What was supposed to be a triumphant White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the signing of a mineral rights deal devolved into an Oval Office shouting match that ended with a vulgar, grievance-filled rant from President Donald Trump and taunts about Zelensky's supposed lack of gratitude from Vice President JD Vance.
Zelensky left the White House roughly an hour after the emotional eruption, cutting short talks that were supposed to cement an economic relationship between Washington and Kyiv and create a mechanism to repay the billions in American military aid that has been sent to Ukraine since 2022.
Trump took to his Truth Social site to announce the collapse in talks, writing that he and Zelensky had "a very meaningful meeting in the White House" with "much" 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. 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 said.
A White House official told The Independent that the minerals deal was not signed and said Zelensky had been asked to leave by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz.
Echoing Trump's social media post, the official said Zelensky could return only when he is "ready for peace."
The conflagration which led to the Ukrainian leader's abrupt departure — and what could be an equally abrupt end to American support for Ukraine — kicked off on Friday after the American vice president began lecturing Zelensky for what he called a lack of open gratitude towards the United States for the aid his country has received to combat Russia's invading forces.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky had arrived at the White House and was greeted by Trump outside the West Wing, with the U.S. leader shaking his hand and making a jovial quip about the Ukrainian president's customary wartime outfit before escorting him to the Oval Office.
But the conversation took a turn after roughly 30 minutes of questions from reporters as the subject turned to whether the agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine would include any security guarantees from the American side.
When Trump was asked by a reporter from Polish radio about concerns that he is "aligned" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump replied that he was "not aligned with anybody" save for "the United States of America, and for the good of the world."
The 40-year-old former Ohio senator began by mocking Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, and blaming him for Putin's decision to escalate the conflict with Ukraine by invading one year into Biden's term in 2022.
Zelensky responded by relating the history of the conflict and the multiple peace agreements that Putin has violated.
Turning to Vance, he said: "What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?"
Vance replied: "I'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country."
The vice president then began lecturing Zelensky about contradicting Trump in front of reporters, telling the Ukrainian leader that it was "disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media" and echoed Russian talking points about Ukraine's use of a military draft.
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