The announcement that the US is "pausing and reviewing" all military aid to Ukraine has been met with applause in at least one quarter. Kremlin spokesperson Dimitri Peskov said Donald Trump's decision to cut off Ukraine's defence fund "could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process". But Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko told the BBC that the move was a "disaster" for Kyiv and suggests that the White House is now "siding with Russia" in the conflict.

What did the commentators say?
Trump has "executed a startling realignment of American foreign policy, effectively throwing US support behind Moscow", said NBC News. This "extraordinary pivot" has "upended decades of hawkish foreign policy toward Russia", with Trump accusing Ukraine of starting the war, branding President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and now suspending all military aid to the country. Trump's administration has also sanctioned direct "peace" talks with the Kremlin, voted against a UN resolution blaming Moscow for the invasion and signalled that it is prepared to loosen economic sanctions on Russia.

All this amounts to a simple truth that Western leaders are only now confronting, said historian Phillips Payson O'Brien in The Atlantic: "Trump is with Putin far more than he is with Europe's democracies", including Ukraine.

The two-time US president has a "unique kinship" with his Russian counterpart that goes back to the investigation into alleged interference by Moscow during the 2016 US presidential election, said The Associated Press.

What next?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that the US strategy is the best way to end the war, and that Trump is "the only leader in the world that could actually get Putin to agree to a peace". But "this is the opposite of what Trump's actions are likely to achieve", said Katie Stallard in The New Statesman. By accusing Zelenskyy of being the main impediment to peace, the Trump administration is "only strengthening Putin's hand" and "making it less likely" that the Russian leader will offer concessions in future negotiations.

"Gentle parenting" is having a rough time of late. After years of being the parenting style du jour – and the inspiration for mountains of "momfluencer" social media content – the empathy-heavy, punishment-free child-rearing method is facing a backlash.

With "gentle parenting", the "naughty step is out, talking feelings through is in", said Ed Cumming in The Telegraph. The theory is that if you focus on your child's "motivations and feelings", rather than "guiding them with punishment or shame", you will equip them "better for adult life". But surveys and "frazzled" posts on parenting forums suggest parents are "tiring of deferring to their child's every whim".

'Children know they're sometimes bad'
Gentle parenting "professes to foster compassion and emotional self-understanding" in children, said self-professed sceptic Marilyn Simon on UnHerd. Throwing a tantrum is a sign of frustration, so "should be understood, not punished", because "for a gentle parent, children aren't bad". Whether or not you agree with this premise, "the worst part" is "the tone of voice" that "gentle parents" adopt. "You know the voice. 'What kind of choice do we want to make, Aiden?' 'Ella, we use gentle voices with each other.'" The gentle approach can come across as condescending, even to a child.

In truth, "most children know that they're sometimes bad" and "the job of the parent is not to prevent any potential 'trauma'; it is to love the child even when they are bad, and to punish them, and most importantly to forgive them".

'Godsend' 
While practising gentle parenting "has not been the easiest thing in the world", it has ultimately been a "godsend", said enthusiasts Allie and Chris Bullivant at the Institute for Family Studies. Parents can never be perfect, but they can help their child to navigate emotion and conflict more gracefully.

It's clear that while gentle parenting might be having a wobbly moment, said Helen Rumbelow in The Times, the days of Gina Ford's "strict schedules", of "Supernanny" and her "threatening time-outs", are largely gone. The calls for strictness and punishments have been muted, although "that doesn’t mean they aren't out there" – after all, "fashions in parenting veer like a child on a swing".

If the thought of "hulking mega-ships" is unappealing, said The Telegraph, consider another kind of cruise holiday. River ships are "petite and boutique", typically carrying less than 200 passengers, and sail through some of the world's most beautiful and historic cities. Here are some the best river cruises to try this year.

The Rhine
With "more castles than any other river", said The Times, and "panoramic banks lined with vineyards", the Rhine is deservedly a popular river cruise spot. The 765-mile river flows through six countries – Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands – and offers an array of trips.

The Douro
The Douro Valley (pictured above) is one of Portugal's most picturesque regions, said The Independent, whether you're "admiring the verdant hills and vineyards around Pinhao" or lounging by the banks in Porto. Riviera Travel's eight-day river cruise from Porto includes excursions to the "sleepy" Castelo de Rodrigo and the historic Spanish city of Salamanca.

The Mekong
Aqua Expeditions's Mekong river cruises transport guests to "bustling cities like Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City" and also to idyllic ports nestled in the countryside, said Condé Nast Traveller. Along the way, you can take part in activities from "kayaking to floating villages" to "biking to local markets" and "watching silk weavers at work". The elegant ship is a "marvel" with just 20 luxurious suites, plus a cinema, top-deck plunge pool and sun deck dotted with loungers.

Soldiers must be free to fight without fear of legal reprisals
Nick Kitson in The Times
As our Armed Forces prepare to "step up on our behalf" in Ukraine, writes Colonel Nick Kitson, the European Convention on Human Rights "continues to be used to pore over long-past military deployments" and "find fault with the actions of individual servicemen". Our current personnel need "appropriate legal cover" that allows them "to do their jobs without fear of retrospective and revisionist legal scrutiny" for the remainder of their lives.

How can young people be happy? By growing up
Emily Watkins in The i Paper
"Youth is in crisis," writes Emily Watkins, after a UN study highlighted increasing unhappiness among the younger generation. Yet while today's youth are dealing with "runaway housing markets and economic crashes", our ancestors faced "war, disasters and death at much higher rates than most of us could ever imagine". The difference is "the degree to which we're immersed" in this "stupid and scary" life. Our young, "untethered" from real-world experience, are vulnerable to drifting into doom-scrolling pessimism.

Is Kate Moss… basic?
Zoe Strimpel in The Spectator
"Could the world's sexiest, coolest woman be turning… basic?" writes Zoe Strimpel. Kate Moss' "eff-it philosophy" of life, which kept her "aloof" from the "celebrity rabble", has "evaporated" with the launch of Cosmoss, a "Victoria Beckham-esque cosmetics line" that's "shot through with a heavy dose of Gwyneth Paltrow". It's a "poignant irony" that this "embodiment of Cool Britannia" is "turning into the very thing she had always been at pains to shun".