By Steve Holland, Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meeting with Donald Trump ended in disaster on Friday, after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary shouting match before the world’s media at the White House over the war with Russia.
Zelenskiy had coveted the meeting in the White House to help his country convince the United States not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Instead U.S. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance attacked the Ukrainian leader, saying he showed disrespect, underlining how the change of administration in Washington has undermined Kyiv’s attempts to maintain Western support for its war effort.
Trump has sided with Putin since taking over as president, shocking his traditional allies in Europe and beyond and leaving Ukraine increasingly vulnerable. Friday’s outburst was the most public display of that shift to date.
Vance stressed the need for diplomacy to resolve the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two, while Zelenskiy, with his arms folded, countered that Putin could not be trusted in any talks and noted that Vance had never visited Ukraine.
Trump quickly took to Truth Social to accuse Zelenskiy of disrespecting the United States.
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved,” he wrote, using an alternative spelling of the leader’s name. “He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Zelenskiy conducted the meeting in his non-native English, and as it progressed he was drowned out by Trump and Vance.
“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards,” Trump said.
“I’m not playing cards, I’m very serious, Mr. President,” Zelenskiy said.
“You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people, you’re gambling with World War Three,” the U.S. president continued.
Russian former President Dmitry Medvedev appeared to revel in the spectacle, writing on Telegram that Trump had delivered the “truth” to Zelenskiy and saying the Ukrainian leader had received a “brutal dressing down in the Oval Office.”
EARLY EXIT
Zelenskiy left the White House early following the confrontation, without signing a much-vaunted deal between Ukraine and the United States over the joint development of natural resources.
The clash also undermines recent efforts by European leaders to convince Trump to provide security guarantees for Ukraine even if he has refused to deploy U.S. soldiers on Ukrainian soil to maintain peace.
Such guarantees are seen as crucial to deter Russia from future aggression.
“People are dying, you’re running low on soldiers,” Trump told Zelenskiy as they engaged in a remarkably blunt argument before reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump threatened to withdraw U.S. support from Ukraine.
“You’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty,” Trump told Zelenskiy.
“Once we sign that deal, you’re in a much better position. But you’re not acting at all thankful, and that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest. That’s not a nice thing.”
Zelenskiy openly challenged Trump over his softer approach toward Putin, urging him to “make no compromises with a killer.”
Trump stressed that Putin wants to make a deal.
Vance also interjected that it was disrespectful of Zelenskiy to come to the Oval Office to litigate his position, a point Trump agreed with.
“You didn’t say thank you,” Vance said. Zelenskiy, raising his voice, responded: “I said a lot of times thank you to American people.”
Zelenskiy, who gained billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. weaponry and moral support from the Biden administration for its fight against Russia, is facing a sharply different attitude from Trump. Trump wants to quickly wind down the three-year war, improve ties with Russia and recoup money spent to support Ukraine.
“I hope I’m going to be remembered as a peacemaker,” Trump said.
Earlier, Trump told Zelenskiy that his soldiers have been unbelievably brave and that the United States wants to see an end to the fighting and the money put to “different kinds of use like rebuilding.”
Trump has adopted a much less committed stance toward European security.
The confrontation prompted messages of support for Kyiv from European leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia is the aggressor, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you.”
The Washington talks were previously seen as a diplomatic boost for Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly spoken of the importance of meeting Trump in person before the U.S. president holds talks with Putin.
Kyiv had hoped the minerals agreement would spur Trump to back Ukraine’s war effort, and potentially even win support from Republicans in Congress for a new round of aid.
Ukraine has rapidly expanded its defence industry production but remains heavily reliant on foreign military assistance, while also struggling to replenish manpower as it battles a much larger foe.
While Ukraine repelled Russia’s invasion from the outskirts of Kyiv and recaptured swathes of territory in 2022, Russia still controls around a fifth of Ukraine and has been slowly taking ground since a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023.
Kyiv’s troops hold a chunk of land in Russia’s western Kursk region after a 2024 incursion.
Trump has engaged in a long-distance feud with Zelenskiy in recent weeks, criticizing his handling of the war, calling him a “dictator” and urging him to agree to the minerals deal. He subsequently distanced himself from the “dictator” remark.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Nandita Bose; Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth, Simon Lewis and Jeff Mason; Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk, Colleen Jenkins, Gerry Doyle, Peter Graff and Rod Nickel)
