Donald Trump has claimed that Russia "has been fine on Ukraine" as he continues to defend Vladimir Putin while launching a fresh attack on Volodymyr Zelensky. The US President blamed his Ukrainian counterpart for the rising death toll in the four-year-long war and suggested he would be open to attending a summit on the conflict without Kyiv representatives.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said: "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much."
US-Ukraine relations deteriorate
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have sharply worsened following Mr Trump's decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel in an effort to cut fuel prices ahead of challenging mid-term elections. Since then, Mr Trump has suggested Mr Zelensky should be replaced, declined to say whether Russia was responsible for the war, and used his executive powers to block a major sanctions package he had previously supported.
The White House claimed the move was in the US "national interests", despite Mr Trump having previously endorsed the round of tough new sanctions that were due to come into effect on Sunday.
Fears over intelligence sharing and Starlink
The row has also sparked fears that the US would stop intelligence sharing with Kyiv and that Ukraine's access to the military component of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications system would be restricted. Ukraine relies on Starlink to help intercept Russian missile and drone attacks, but faced speed limits earlier in the week that significantly curtailed its ability to do so.
Mr Musk has claimed the order to impose speed limits on Ukraine's Starlink access came from Mr Trump's administration, but the president has denied this.
UK support and military exercise
The UK Government has backed Ukraine throughout the row, with Andy Burnham welcoming Mr Zelensky to Downing Street on Wednesday with an honour guard and an agreement to accelerate the delivery of vital air defence missiles. However, the Prime Minister has so far refrained from directly criticising Mr Trump, telling MPs he needed to be "careful" with his language as he looked to try to "repair bridges so that the support comes back".
While the US-Ukraine relationship frays, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has announced that Britain will join Germany and France in a major military exercise in Poland next month. Speaking in Washington DC, Mr Streeting said: "Ukraine is the front line for freedom everywhere, and it's absolutely vital that they prevail against Putin's aggression. We're planning for the peace and freedom we want to see through our leadership of the coalition of the willing."
