Trump wrote on social media that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not ‘ready for peace if America is involved’
Washington
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, ended abruptly after the two leaders clashed in a heated exchange over Russia’s war against Kyiv.
At the Oval Office on Friday, Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” and not thanking the US enough for its support.
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump shouted. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country – this country.”
Zelenskyy, who was meeting with Trump to convince him not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss possible US security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, told Trump that there would be “no compromises with a killer on our territory”.
As the Ukrainian leader left the White House shortly after the verbal match, Trump took to the Truth Social social media app, which he owns, to write that Zelenskyy was not “ready for peace if America is involved”.
“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” he added.
Zelenskyy posted on X after the meeting to thank the US for its support.
“Thank you POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote.
Here is how some world leaders reacted to the heated dispute:
United States
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Zelenskyy to prioritise a rare earth minerals deal over security guarantees or a ceasefire with Russia.
“I talked to Zelenskyy this morning – don’t take the bait. President Trump was in a very good mood last night,” Graham said outside the White House.
A vocal Ukraine supporter and Trump ally, Graham called the meeting an “utter disaster” and questioned future US dealings with Zelenskyy. “I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again,” he said, adding that the Ukrainian president should apologise to Trump or for Ukraine to “get someone new” to lead the country.
Top Democratic leaders condemned Trump’s handling of the talks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused him of doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “dirty work”, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the exchange “appalling”.
“The United States must not reward Russian aggression,” Jeffries said. “We should stand with Ukraine until victory is won.”
Russia
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, wrote on Telegram that Trump had given Ukraine a “strong slap on the wrist”.
“For the first time, Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: The Kyiv regime is playing with the Third World War. And the ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty. This is useful. But it’s not enough – we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine,” said Medvedev, who is also a former Russian president.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also praised Trump for showing “restraint” with the Ukrainian leader, whom she called a “scumbag”.
“I think Zelenskyy’s biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support,” she wrote on Telegram. “How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint.”
European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola all told Zelenskyy in a joint post: “Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless.
“We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”
The bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, said it was clear that “the free world needs a new leader.”
“Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine,” she said in a social media post.
“We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back [against] the aggressor,” she added. “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”
