A high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ended in a heated confrontation on Friday, as the two leaders clashed publicly over Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Zelensky, seeking to shore up US support for Kyiv’s war effort, was instead met with criticism from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who accused him of disrespecting the US and urged him to negotiate a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump repeatedly pressed Zelensky to compromise, warning that Ukraine lacked leverage in the conflict. "You're either going to make a deal, or we’re out," Trump told him. "If we’re out, you’ll fight it out, and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty."
Zelensky, visibly frustrated, challenged Trump’s softer stance toward Putin, warning him not to “make compromises with a killer.”
The confrontation unfolded in front of reporters in the Oval Office, with Zelensky raising his voice as he insisted that he had repeatedly thanked the American people for their support. Trump and Vance dismissed his response, arguing he had not shown enough gratitude.
The tense exchange resulted in Zelensky leaving the White House early, without signing a highly anticipated US-Ukraine natural resource agreement.
The deal, which would grant the US access to Ukraine’s mineral and energy resources, did not include explicit security guarantees for Kyiv—an omission that deepened Ukrainian concerns over future US support.
Trump insists that US business investments in Ukraine could serve as an alternative security assurance, while Zelensky resisted signing an agreement that could financially burden Ukraine for generations.
The Washington talks were expected to provide a diplomatic boost for Zelensky ahead of Trump’s upcoming discussions with Putin. Instead, they exposed Ukraine’s growing isolation and the uncertainty surrounding future Western aid.
As Trump positions himself as a peacemaker, his approach signals a potential realignment of US foreign policy, forcing Kyiv to reconsider its long-term strategy for survival in a war that has already claimed thousands of lives.
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