Keith Kellogg, the US envoy for Kyiv and Moscow, made comments about Ukraine in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" and suggested Ukraine started the war.

The US is “with” Ukraine and any deal to end the fighting with Russia should ensure there is no “next war”, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Kyiv and Moscow has said.

There are concerns among Ukrainian officials, however, that General Kellogg - who was not part of a top-level US delegation that held a landmark meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to talk about an end to the war - has been sidelined by the White House.