Vladimir Putin is “gambling” on Donald Trump winning the 2024 US election.

The Kremlin hopes a second presidential term for Trump would see American support for Kyiv dwindle, a leading Western official has warned.

Trump has vowed to end the Ukraine war immediately if he is re-elected next year and intends to convince Kyiv to give up territory in the east — something the war-torn nation is adamant that it will not do.

The official said: “Russia thinks time is on its side. We believe time is on our side.

“It has been put that if you’re Putin, you’re gambling that Donald Trump wins the next election. But that is quite a long way away.”

The official explained that Ukraine is unlikely to make a significant breakthrough in its counteroffensive before the winter but encouraged observers to look at the big picture rather than fixate on “tactical issues”.

They said: “Russia has lost, either killed or wounded, over 270,000 people and (destroyed) over a couple of thousand tanks, and if you add that to the armoured fighting vehicles (it is) over 4,000 fighting vehicles.

“There has been an enormous drain on Russia, particularly its army and combat effectiveness.”