Britain will try to build bridges between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky after an explosive row erupted over the US President’s announcement of a deal to buy Russian diesel, defence secretary Wes Streeting has said.

President Trump called for new leadership in Ukraine on Saturday, after President Zelensky lashed out at the plan which he said would only bolster Russia’s attacks on his country.

Andy Burnham is due to meet Zelensky in person in the coming days, No 10 said on Saturday, after the PM spoke to the Ukrainian leader and "reiterated his complete solidarity" with Ukraine.

With high fuel prices in the US hitting consumers in the wake of Trump’s war with Iran, the President announced a deal to lift sanctions on Moscow to supply some 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the US and global markets on Friday.

Ukraine has condemned the deal as “absolutely terrible” and said it looked like a birthday present for Putin.

Mr Streeting suggested the UK would act as a peacebroker between the two sides.

He told Sky News that it is “not the first time we've seen these sorts of tensions between Kyiv and Washington.

“And our approach, our role, our responsibility in this situation is to try and bring our friends back together. What we want to see, and what we need to see, is unity in the face of Russian aggression and imperialism.”

He also suggested that President Trump was under pressure with looming elections in the US.

He added: “Let’s be candid about this, midterms are coming up. Cost of living is an issue, and no doubt President Trump is feeling the same pressure that lots of leaders are facing in terms of wanting to ease cost of living pressures.”

A day after the deal to ease sanctions, President Zelensky said: “Today, Russia said thank you for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia”.

He also warned that Moscow interpreted any easing of pressure as a signal it could continue attacking Ukrainian cities.

President Trump said "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president" as the clash intensified.

He told reporters outside the White House that President Zelensky "wants to make problems for the world" by continuing to authorise attacks on Russian refineries.

"He'd better damn well stop," Trump said, before suggesting Ukraine should "get a new leader who can make a deal".

Mr Streeting tried to play down the impact of the diesel deal, saying people should not “overstate the impact” and adding “let’s not also understate US support for Ukraine”.

Asked about Trump’s claim Zelensky has not done enough to end the war, begun when Russia invaded Ukraine, he said: “We are in no doubt that the aggressor here was Vladimir Putin. He is the person who chose to start this war.

“He is the person who could end this war tomorrow, and he chooses not to. So, we stand with Ukraine. We stand with President Zelensky.”