Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he wants to work “directly” with US President-elect Donald Trump and is open to his ideas, highlighting Kyiv’s eagerness to keep its most important ally onside as Russia intensifies its attacks.

In further remarks to Sky News, the UK’s former representative to Nato, Sir Adam Thomson, said that Mr Zelensky appeared to be preparing domestic audiences for compromises, while “making opening moves” in a likely extended negotiation with Mr Trump over which line to take with the Kremlin.

President-elect Trump’s choice for special envoy to the Russia-Ukraine war, Keith Kellogg, has offered fairly detailed proposals for ending the war that began almost three years ago. Trump has promised to end the war within a day of returning to the White House,