Donald Trump’s son has appeared to mock Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that the wartime leader’s “allowance” will run out when his father returns to the White House.
The US President-elect’s eldest son shared an Instagram clip showing the wartime leader looking sad with the caption: “POV: You’re 38 days from losing your allowance”.
Fears have grown in Kyiv that US military aid could be cut by Mr Trump following his repeated criticism of the Biden administration for funding Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion.
Mr Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine “in one day” by negotiating a peace deal that could see Kyiv forced to give up swathes of land captured by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
On Saturday, Republican strategist Bryan Lanza said in an interview with the BBC that Trump's administration would be asking Mr Zelensky for a "realistic vision for peace."
He said the new administration's priority in Ukraine would be establishing peace and not restoring lost territory, including Crimea.
"And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he's not serious. Crimea is gone," he said.
But Mr Trump’s transition team appeared to distance itself from the proposals, saying that Mr Lanza did not speak for the president-elect.
In an address this week, Mr Zelensky welcomed the US election result and appeared to deny suggestions that it would harm Ukraine’s war effort.
“It was extremely important for us in Ukraine and for all of Europe to consistently hear the words of the then-45th President of the United States about 'peace through strength,” he said.
“And if this becomes the policy principle of the 47th President of the United States, America and the whole world will undoubtedly benefit from it.”
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly said peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled and all territory captured by Moscow, including Crimea, is returned.
Russian troops failed in their initial advance on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv but in recent months have been capturing a string of villages on the eastern front.
