It is hard to overplay the sense of despondency and sheer dread felt by Downing Street insiders as they watched Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky trade barbs in the Oval Office.

Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday afternoon to discuss an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began more than three years ago. The pair announced “great progress” had been made, but they still did not reach any kind of plan to end the war.

The last time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was inside the Oval Office, he was berated by his US hosts, denied a planned luncheon and abruptly asked to leave the West Wing.

Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to reject Vladimir Putin's "peace deal" - which involves handing large sections of Ukraine to Russia. The Ukrainian President has claimed his Russian counterpart wants the rest of occupied Donetsk - and effectively the entire Donbas region - as part of a ceasefire deal.