Conservative MP Mark Francois has launched a fierce defence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after US president Donald Trump branded him a "dictator" earlier this week.

Speaking to GB News, Francois declared "Zelensky is not a dictator. He's a hero," as he delivered a scathing assessment of the Russian president.

Speaking to GB News Mark Francois said: "There is no moral equivalence between Zelensky and Putin.

"Zelensky is a president trying to defend his country. Putin is a barbarian trying to invade one.

Mark Francois praised the Ukrainian President as a hero

"There should be negotiations, but clearly the Ukrainians must be in the room for that. You can't have a negotiation about the future of Ukraine if the Ukrainians aren't there. It makes no sense.

"Even if you did get a deal above their head, how could that deal possibly endure after everything Ukrainians have been through, after Putin has sanctioned the use of highly accurate cruise missiles to blow up children's hospitals?

"This is what we're talking about. How on earth can you negotiate the future of that country without having Zelensky in the room?

"Zelensky is not a dictator. He's a hero. And it's about time we started making a distinction between heroes Zelensky and KGB murderer Vladimir Putin.

"Other than that, though, I have no firm view on the matter.

"We cannot allow Putin any kind of settlement that would allow Putin to declare victory."

Donald Trump has escalated tensions by branding Zelensky a "dictator" and warning him "to move fast" or he "won't have a country left."

The US president's comments came after Zelensky accused Trump of "living in a disinformation space" created by Russia.

Trump had repeated baseless Russian claims that Ukraine initiated the conflict, echoing Putin's narrative.

Reports suggest Putin is preparing to exploit the growing tensions between Ukraine and its Western allies.

Ukraine President Volodymyr ZelenskyPA

According to Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin, the FSB and Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service are planning "information-psychological special operations" against Zelensky.

The campaign aims to provoke a coup against the Ukrainian president, replacing him with a leader more amenable to Moscow's demands.

Writing on his website Gulagu.net, Osechkin revealed that Russian special services "will move to more decisive actions" using agents in Ukraine.

The goal is to install figures who "would agree to all the conditions of the Kremlin" in Ukraine's leadership positions.