The rules of the White House Correspondents' Dinner are clear: thousands of journalists, officials, security personnel. And yet - someone walked in with a shotgun, a pistol, and several knives. Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old math and physics teacher from California, a Caltech graduate named "teacher of the month" in December 2024 - cleared security and opened fire. Trump and Melania were evacuated. One Secret Service agent was hit in protective gear.

What were the motives? The next day, the investigation began revealing something more interesting: Allen was a fierce critic of the reduction in US support for Ukraine. He donated to Ukrainian forces, attacked Vice President Vance on social media for his statements on Ukraine. Before the attack, he sent a manifesto - the targets were Trump administration officials "from top to bottom." The sole exception: FBI Director Kash Patel.

The parallel with the 2024 case is direct: Ryan Wesley Routh - also described as a Ukraine supporter, also connected to an alleged attempt to remove Trump. Are the two cases linked? The investigation does not answer that. But the question exists. US authorities claim Allen acted alone, but investigation of his ties to Ukrainian fundraising networks is continuing.

In the Balkans the logic is well understood: when a major power retreats or changes policy, someone always feels betrayed. How many people around the world view the change in America's approach to Ukraine with similar grievance - that is a question for which neither Trump nor anyone else has a quick answer.