President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC ended abruptly after the two leaders clashed in a heated exchange over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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”.
US Pesident Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
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:
Deputy head of Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev
Medvedev, a former Russian president, 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,” Medvedev said.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas
Kallas said it was clear that “the free world needs a new leader”.
“Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine,” Kallas 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.”
French President Emmanuel Macron
Macron told reporters in Portugal that Russia is the “aggressor” in the Ukraine war and Ukrainians are the “aggressed people”.
“I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so. We, that is the United States of America,