Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Washington on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian leader was expected to sign a deal related to critical minerals. Instead, he left early after a meeting that turned contentious as Trump and Zelenskyy argued over the terms of a potential agreement in front of the press. The interaction was broadcast to a shocked national audience.
The U.S. president declared his Ukrainian counterpart wasn’t “thankful” even though he didn’t have “any cards.”
Trump wants access to Ukraine’s large swath of critical mineral resources in exchange for fostering a peace agreement and helping Kyiv to rebuild. Zelenskyy is willing to compromise but wants “security guarantees” from the U.S. — a promise the Trump-Vance administration seemed unwilling to make.
Trump, sitting between Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, told reporters that France and the United Kingdom are willing to help Ukraine with security.
Trump indicated that the presence of American workers would be enough of a deterrent for Russia.
“We haven’t committed but we could conceivably ... have security in a different form. We’ll have workers there, digging, digging, digging,” he said, referring to the deal, where Kyiv would split the revenue from natural resources, like oil, gas and minerals, with Washington. Trump hopes to recoup the cost of aid to Ukraine.
The deal would also set up a fund for reconstruction projects. The estimated cost to rebuild the war-torn country is $524 billion, according to Reuters.
“Hopefully we won’t have to send much because I’m looking forward to getting it done quickly,” Trump said at one point.
But Zelenskyy continued to press Trump, saying “there must be security guarantees” and that Ukraine won’t accept a ceasefire deal without it.
What happened during the meeting?
The last few minutes turned continuous as Vance called the Ukrainian president “disrespectful” for “litigating in front of the American media” when Zelenskyy pointed out Russia’s unwillingness to cooperate with negotiations.
“You should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference,” Vance added.
They talked over each other before Trump raised his voice and said: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III.”
“What you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should,” Trump continued. Vance was in lockstep with the president, saying, “Have you said thank you once in this entire meeting?”
Trump declared Zelenskyy had said enough, adding, “You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there. You people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers.” He urged Zelenskyy to sign the deal.
Trump, visibly red in the face, lashed out at a reporter, who asked the final question, a hypothetical, about Russia breaking the ceasefire agreement.
Trump responded, “What if anything? What if a bomb drops on your head right now?” before touting his cordial relationship with Putin and dismissing the press.
The White House told Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich Zelenskyy was told to leave, and return when he is ready to talk about peace negotiations.
Trump and Zelenskyy: A souring relationship?
The Friday meeting marked their first face-to-face visit since Trump took office more than a month ago. The two world leaders share a difficult relationship. They spoke on the phone on Feb. 12 following Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A few days later, Trump labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator” and accused Kyiv of provoking Russia into a war.
Zelenskyy countered by saying the U.S. president lived in a Russian “disinformation-bubble.”
Should Zelenskyy return to Washington and sign an agreement, it could open the door for a long-lasting ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. But there are questions from Ukraine whether Russia would honor it.
Despite these tensions, Zelenskyy was supposed to receive a formal White House welcome. His sit down with the president in the Oval Office in the morning was expected to be followed by a lunch and a joint press conference in the afternoon, but those were canceled.
Trump told reporters from the Oval Office Thursday before the meeting that it’s “a very important agreement for both sides.”
“It’s really going to get us into that country. We’ll be working there. We’ll have a lot of people working and so in that sense, it’s very good. It’s a backstop,” he said.
Trump also said he could trust the Russian president to not break a peace deal. “I think he’ll keep his word. I’ve spoken to him. I’ve known him for a long time now,” Trump said. “I think the deal is going to hold now.”
But the future of negotiations is now unclear following the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting.
