JD Vance has criticised European leaders for publicly backing Volodymyr Zelensky while privately calling for the war in Ukraine to end.

The US Vice President claimed allies had privately expressed dread about the war with Russia dragging on for years, and warned them against dragging out the conflict by “puff[ing] up” the Ukrainian leader.

European leaders are privately pushing for Mr Zelensky to build bridges with Donald Trump, the US President, after he threw his Ukrainian counterpart out of the White House last week following an explosive meeting.

“Sometimes you will have European heads of state who in public will puff up their chests and say, ‘we’re in it with President Zelensky for the next 10 years,’” Mr Vance told Fox News’ Sean Hannit on Wednesday evening.

“And then in private, they will pick up the phone and say, ‘This can’t go on forever. He has to come to the negotiating table.’”

He continued: “Honestly, I don’t care what the Europeans say in public. What I care [about] is what they say in private. And what they need to be saying to President Zelensky is, ‘This can’t go on forever.’

“The bloodshed, the killing, the economic devastation, it’s making everyone worse off.”

Mr Trump’s plan for a peace deal was the only “realistic” means to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, Mr Vance insisted.

“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years,” he said, seemingly referring to British and French plans to install a peacekeeping force in Ukraine to ward off Russian invasions.