When Zelensky travelled to Washington last week, he went with my best wishes. Like every other patriotic Ukrainian, I hoped that he would make a success of his visit. And so I watched what unfolded during that now notorious meeting in the Oval Office with mounting horror.

The first rule of great power diplomacy is to make sure your personal demeanour doesn’t get in the way of achieving your goals.

With his display of truculence and intransigence, Zelensky sabotaged a rare-earth minerals deal that promised to bring peace to his homeland and lay the foundations for post-war reconstruction.

He failed to understand that Trump is a businessman – and what Zelensky perceived to be cynical extortion was in fact clever leadership and canny negotiation. Zelensky of all people should realise how delicate and difficult it is to force a brutal dictator like Putin to talk peace.

Zelensky initially rejected the White House’s deal largely on the basis that it did not come with any security guarantees attached.

But while the Americans were not offering F35s to police the air nor Marines to patrol the ground, they were proposing something that could be almost equally effective.

By putting US contractors in the region, Trump was effectively saying to Putin: ‘Hands off Ukraine; it’s my business partner now, and worth nearly your entire GDP.’ The idea that the Kremlin might ever authorise attacks on American civilians working in Ukraine is absurd.

It would have taken at least three years to develop Europe’s defence industry to the point that it might be in a position to support Ukraine without American assistance. In that time the Russians might well have captured huge swathes of territory.

So, yes, my country may have been saved at the 11th hour. But following his latest display of bad judgment, I believe Zelensky’s leadership has become a liability.

The atmosphere of mutual goodwill that once cloaked Ukraine’s dealings with America has now given way to one of distrust and resentment.

I would like to see Zelensky step down to make way for a government of national unity.

This would take in representatives of all the major parties and major political figures, from ex-President Petro Poroshenko and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko to former Parliament Chair Dmytro Razumkov and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko — but not including any pro-Russian parties for obvious reasons.

It should also include senior members of the military, as – apart from the fact they have vital knowledge of the situation on the ground – they are the one element of Ukrainian society that is beyond reproach.

Indeed, if I had my way, the post of president would go to a former soldier: General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The silver lining of Zelensky’s mishandling of Trump is that it brought Europe’s big beasts together for the first time since Brexit, and galvanised Europe to rearm in the face of the Russian threat. But, with Ukraine’s future at a crossroads, I can only hope that he has the good sense to realise that it is time to make way for a new leader.