Ukraine LIVE: Vladimir Putin reeling as Kyiv launches huge blitz on Russian targets

Donald Trump will “do a runner” from brokering peace in Ukraine soon, a former British defence secretary has said.

Former Tory MP Ben Wallace told Times Radio: “I’m not very hopeful, I’m afraid. Throughout this Donald Trump has consistently let Putin off the hook”, despite repeatedly threatening tougher sanctions.

“The reality is Donald Trump has no interest. It’s one of the deals that he will move on from – most of his career in business has been about ‘make a deal and do a runner before it actually unravels’. I think that’s what we’re going to see.”

Laying the blame for the millions of people killed, injured and displaced in the war solely at Mr Putin’s feet, he said: “Donald Trump seems to think spending a lots of time on the telephone to him and being constantly humiliated by him – when he just refuses to do anything that Trump requests – is somehow the way to proceed and let’s move on to a trade deal.”

Mr Wallace, who was defence secretary for the first 18 months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, added: “No doubt there’ll be a golf resort somewhere near St Petersburg, I suspect, soon.”