Vladimir Putin’s ambassador to the UK simply laughed when reminded that Russia actually started the war in Ukraine.

The Russian president launched a full-blown invasion of his European neighbour three years ago, and has been bombarding Ukraine ever since.

But, amid a sudden push to end the war quickly, Donald Trump has falsely accused Ukraine of initiating the conflict – and called the country’s president a “dictator”.

Russia’s ambassador Andrei Kelin added to those claims last night, and alleged Volodymyr Zelenskyy was responsible for the war in the first place.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight, presenter Victoria Derbyshire asked Kelin: “It doesn’t make sense, if you’ve got a problem with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, why would you kill innocent Ukrainians?”

Kelin claimed that Zelenskyy promised to be a peaceful president, and is “now leading the war”.

But, when Derbyshire reminded him that Zelenskyy did not start the war, Kelin just laughed and said: “Good to hear from you! I just explained how it has started and you tried...”

Derbyshire paused, and then said: “Why is that funny?”

“It’s like you listen but you do not hear,” the Russian official said. “That is what has happened before with Americans.”

He said this year was the first time the US “listened”, but from other countries in the west “it is all the same.”

“If someone agrees with you, that means they’ve listened and heard?” Derbyshire asked.

Kelin replied: “They heard and they understand what we are saying.”

Trump’s new administration has only been in power for a month, but it has already signalled a major shift away from Joe Biden’s foreign policy approach.

The Republican president appears much more aligned with Putin than with the rest of the west, and has expressed sympathy for Russia’s stance.

Amid further worries that the US is not including any European leaders – or Ukraine – in negotiations to end the war, Kelin also ruled out working with foreign secretary David Lammy completely.

Kelin said: “If you want to insult our leader, we do not have much to talk to you about.

“You may quote also your foreign affairs minister Lammy, who is trying to insult our leaders and our country very many times in recent weeks and months, [since] he has come to power.

“I don’t think we will be interested in to talk or to think Lammy can play any role [in peace talks].”

Like many UK ministers, Lammy has repeatedly criticised Putin. In September last year, he accused the Russian president of trying “to expand his mafia state into a mafia empire”.

And this month, Lammy warned Moscow after it expelled a British diplomat, saying: “My message to Russia is clear – if you take action against us, we will respond.”

Kelin did not address how current US secretary of state Marco Rubio – who sat down for peace talks with Russia on Tuesday – previously called Putin a “liar” and a “war criminal” in 2022, when he was the senator for Florida.