Donald Trump has claimed Ukraine’s “salesman” president Volodymyr Zelensky does not want him to win the US election because he would “make a deal” with Russia.

The Republican candidate said Mr Zelensky wanted Kamala Harris “to win this election so badly” because Democrats have supported sweeping packages to arm Kyiv in its ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion.

“I think Zelensky is the greatest salesman in history,” Trump told his supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania.

It came after Mr Zelensky made a visit to the critical swing state to tour a munitions factory in Scranton, the birthplace of Joe Biden in northeast Pennsylvania.

The factory produces 155mm artillery shells that are sent to the frontlines in Ukraine.

“Every time he comes into the country, he walks away with $60 billion,” Trump said. “But I would do it differently, I will work out peace”.

The US Congress approved roughly $61 billion in funding for Kyiv in April after overcoming months of stalling by hardline Republicans aligned with Trump.

Trump said at his rally on Monday that if he returns to the Oval Office, “the first thing I’m gonna do is call up Zelensky and call up President Putin and I’m gonna say: ‘You gotta make a deal, this is crazy’.”

The ex-president has not outlined what his proposed peace plan would look like, but it is likely to require significant territorial concessions by Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky has cast doubt on Trump’s claim to be able to bring about a swift end to the war in qualified criticism of the Republican candidate ahead of his US visit.

‌“My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how,” he told the New Yorker.

“Whichever president or vice president raises this prospect, that ending the war hinges on cementing the status quo, with Ukraine simply giving up its land, should be held responsible for potentially starting a global war,” he said.

He added that he had held “positive” conversations with Trump, whom he claimed had promised to continue to support Ukraine’s military.

Trump repeatedly declined to say whether he wanted Ukraine to defeat Russia when pressed during his presidential debate against Ms Harris, leading the vice president to claim Putin would be “sitting in Kyiv right now” if he were in the White House.

Mr Zelensky’s visit to Pennsylvania on Sunday has been seen as a boost for Ms Harris, who has been targeting the state’s 750,000-strong Polish-American community.

The Rust Belt state and its 19 electoral college votes could prove critical to deciding the Nov 5 presidential race, and polls suggest it is currently on a knife edge.

Trump was scheduled to meet Andrzej Duda, Poland’s right-wing president, in Pennsylvania on Sunday but later cancelled, reportedly over security concerns.

Mr Zelensky is also slated to meet with Trump in the coming days, after attending the UN general assembly in New York and speaking with Mr Biden and Ms Harris.

He is expected to unveil his “victory plan” to the White House and press for permission to use western-provided missiles to strike deep inside Russia.