Downing Street has rejected the description of Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian” made by Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the Ukraine war.

Steve Witkoff met the Russian president in St Petersburg on Wednesday as he sought to make a new push to end the invasion of Ukraine , with the US putting pressure on Kyiv to agree to a settlement.

In a Russian state media video clip posted on X, Witkoff told Putin: “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also sir, and I salute that. I commend you.”

Witkoff calls Putin a ‘humanitarian’ after release of jailed American – video

When asked about Witkoff’s description of Putin, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “We certainly do not recognise that characterisation, and President Putin has killed thousands of people, both innocent Ukrainians and his own Russian people, who he has sent to their deaths on the frontline.

“He is starving children and the elderly of the heat and warmth, and systematically…