Watch live as Vladimir Putin speaks at an AI and technology forum in Moscow on Friday, 21 February.

It comes after Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on Ukraine, claiming Volodymyr Zelensky’s nation started the war rather than Moscow invading Ukraine in 2022.

Adding to the attacks, Elon Musk has now claimed without evidence that Ukrainians “despised” their leader.

The row appears to have begun after Ukraine was left out of peace talks between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Trump and Mr Putin spoke on a three-hour call, after which Mr Trump and his ally launched a barrage of false attacks on Mr Zelensky.

The US president began echoing Kremlin propaganda in suggesting that Kyiv was to blame for Russia’s invasion – prompting Mr Zelensky to warn that Mr Trump was living in a “disinformation” bubble.

Mr Trump lashed out at the Ukrainian president as a “modestly successful comedian” and “dictator” whose only skill was “playing Joe Biden like a fiddle”. In further remarks to journalists, he claimed that Russia “holds the cards” in the ongoing war.

Watch more on Independent TV: https://tinyurl.com/yc7ukx9n

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded.

Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Independent

Find us on social:
TikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@independent
Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/the.independent/
X (Twitter) / https://twitter.com/Independent
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependentOnline

Download the iOS & Android app: https://tinyurl.com/2s3ts5dh
Sign up to our newsletters: https://tinyurl.com/2bmw565x

Help to support truly independent journalism. Every dollar you contribute will directly fund additional special reports and investigations from a free-thinking, award-winning newsroom you can trust: https://www.independent.co.uk/donations

Live: Putin addresses AI summit as Trump and Musk launch cruel tirade at Zelensky