Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump clashed on Friday, with Zelenskyy questioning Trump’s tilt toward Russia and Trump accusing him of being disrespectful as their differences erupted into a shouting match.
Trump and Zelenskyy talked over each other as Trump insisted Zelenskiy was losing the Ukraine war and said, “people are dying, you’re running low on soldiers.”
He threatened to withdraw US support in a standoff in front of reporters ahead of a planned signing ceremony for a revenue-sharing minerals agreement. “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 him.
“You don’t have the cards. 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.” Zelenskyy openly challenged Trump over his softer approach toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to “make no compromises with a killer.”
Zelenskyy pushed back on Trump’s claims that Ukrainian cities have been reduced to rubble by three years of war. Trump stressed that Putin wants to make a deal.
“You are gambling with World War Three,” Trump told Zelenskyy at one point, urging him to be more thankful.
Vice President JD Vance interjected that it was disrespectful of him to come to the Oval Office to litigate his position, a point Trump agreed with.
Zelenskyy, who gained billions of dollars’ worth of US 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.
The agreement negotiated in recent days would open Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth to the United States but does not include explicit American security guarantees for Ukraine, a disappointment for Kyiv. Trump says the presence of Americans in business would serve as a form of guarantee.
How much the deal would be worth to the US is not spelled out. Trump has said he expects to gain hundreds of billions of dollars. Zelenskyy has said he would not sign an agreement that would put Ukraine in debt for generations.