US President Donald Trump has said he has a "lot of respect" for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of their talks at the White House. Asked by the BBC if he would apologise for recently calling him a "dictator", he said he could not believe he had said this. He also called Zelensky "very brave".

Things change fast in Donald Trump’s world. A few days ago, the US president falsely branded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” who started Russia’s war in Ukraine and had “no cards” to play. But on Friday the Ukrainian war hero will get a full White House welcome.

President Donald Trump announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday as the two sides work toward finalizing an agreement over the Trump administration’s pursuit of repayment for previous U.