Donald Trump heaped praise on Vladimir Putin as he confirmed Volodymyr Zelensky is not invited to their meeting in Alaska this Friday.
The US President said he will try to set up a summit between the Ukrainian leader and the Russian dictator afterwards - but only if he believes a deal is possible.
In a deeply concerning press conference, Mr Trump said he 'got along very well' with Putin saying the strongman saw him as 'the apple of his eye' before the invasion.
He described Moscow's decision to reach out to him and offer to meet in Alaska as 'very respectful' before once more appearing to blame Mr Zelensky for the war.
Mr Trump said he was 'bothered' that the Ukrainian had said he would need constitutional approval for any 'land swaps' - claiming he didn't need it 'to go into war and kill everybody'.
