Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump got into it last week, and Russia have since responded.
The world leaders met in the Oval Office on Friday 28 February, along with Vice President JD Vance and a number of other American officials, as they looked to hash out a minerals deal.
Zelenskyy ended up leaving the White House early after a heated argument that was caught on camera, not apologising for the exchange and called for the US to ‘be more on our side’.
In case you missed it, here’s the exchange:
Trump could be heard telling the Ukrainian leader during the meeting: “You either make a deal or we are out. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
He went on: “You’re not in a very good position, you’ve allowed yourself to be in a bad position… you don’t have the cards right now… you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War III!”
While Zelenskyy has since taken to X and spoken out in an interview to clarify his position, Russian officials have taken to social media to share what they think.
Spoiler – they loved it.
Former President and deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, brutally wrote on X: “The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII.'”
As reported by Reuters, he also celebrated Zelenskyy’s ‘brutal dressing down’ in a separate Telegram post.
The pair got into a heated exchange (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
This wasn’t all though, as Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added more fuel to the fire in a Telegram post of her own, oddly giving credit to Trump for not being violent against Zelenskyy, showing ‘restraint’.
“I think Zelensky’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.
Zakharova added: “How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint.”
She didn’t stop there, adding that Zelenskyy was ‘biting the hand that feeds him’, while calling him ‘unpleasant with everyone’.
There are plans for Russian TV commentator Vladimir Solovyov to broadcast a special specifically about the Ukrainian leader’s so-called ‘suicide in the White House’.
Taking to X after the meeting, Zelenskyy simply wrote: “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
The talks ended with no resolution in sight (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
After being accused by President Trump of disrespecting the USA ‘in its cherished Oval Office’, Zelenskyy held an interview with Fox News, hopeful that the relationship with Trump can be saved.
He explained: “Because it’s relations more than two presidents. It’s the historical relations, strong relations between our people, and that’s why I always began… to thank your people from our people,” adding that he is ‘not sure we did something bad’, but admitted that they should hold discussions away from the media.
He went on: “Of course, thankful to the president, and, of course, to Congress, but first of all, to your people. Your people helped save our people… we wanted very much to have all these strong relations, and where it counted, we will have it.
“I just want to be honest, and I just want our partners to understand the situation correctly, and I want to understand everything correctly. That’s about us not to lose our friendship,” he concluded.
On the other hand, Trump wrote on social media: “We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.
“It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” he wrote.
“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” Trump concluded.