Donald Trump Jr told a conference that the US president “may walk away” from the Ukraine war, arguing there was “no reason” for Kyiv to pursue peace while US money kept flowing. He claimed Ukraine’s “corrupt” rich had fled, leaving “what they believed to be the peasant class” to fight.

Trump Jr accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war because “he knew he would never win an election if it ended”. He accused Zelensky of having become a borderline deity on the left and insisted Ukraine was “far more corrupt than Russia”.

Meanwhile, Zelensky provided a fresh update on peace talks with the US, saying they have been “constructive” but “not easy” in a statement on Sunday. The Ukrainian leader spoke with US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner in a phone call on Saturday.

“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” Zelensky said. “The conversation was constructive, although not easy.” The comments come ahead of key talks between Zelensky, prime minister Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz in London today.