Washington, Feb 28: President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he and and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukraine’s leader in the Oval Office.
The breakdown of negotiations come at a pivotal and precarious moment for Ukraine as Zelenskyy sought security guarantees from the US and Trump’s administration seeks to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
In Ukraine, much of the immediate reaction to the meeting with Trump was supportive of Zelenskyy
“Unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s interests and devotion to his country. This is what we saw today in the United States. Support for the President of Ukraine,” Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, Oleksii Kuleba, wrote on Telegram on Friday.
Leaders of regions across the country also took to social media to back Zelenskyy.
“In the fight for the fate of the country – fundamentally unshakable. Unquestioning support for Volodymyr Zelensky. Endurance to our leader. We believe in the President! We believe in Ukraine,” Serhii Lysak, head of Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, which sits approximately 3 miles from where Russian forces are currently advancing on the battlefield.
‘Shame on you’ Sen. Amy Klobuchar says of Vance over treatment of Zelenskyy
A bipartisan group of senators had a “really good” morning meeting with Zelenskyy earlier in the morning, before he went to the White House, Klobuchar, D-Minn. posted earlier in the day.
Later, she responded directly to the White House, and specifically “Answer to Vance: Zelenskyy has thanked our country over and over again both privately and publicly.”
“And our country thanks HIM and the Ukrainian patriots who have stood up to a dictator, buried their own & stopped Putin from marching right into the rest of Europe.”
She wrote: “Shame on you.”
Polish PM tells Ukraine ‘you are not alone’
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to stand by Ukraine following the contentious Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in the Oval Office.
“Dear @ZelenskyyUa, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” Tusk wrote on X late Friday.
White House says Zelenskyy was asked to leave
Zelenskyy and his delegation were told to leave the White House early after the testy meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, according to a White House official who was not authorised to speak publicly.
Zelenskyy left the White House without signing a critical minerals deal Trump had demanded
Trump suggested the deal was a condition for future support for Ukraine.
The landmark economic agreement aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine and would have closely tied the two countries together for years to come.
Zelenskyy has left the White House after tempers flared during his meeting with Trump
Zelenskyy walked briskly to his armoured vehicle and quickly climbed in, escorted by a protocol officer who saw him off.
A planned news conference and ceremony to sign a US-Ukraine minerals deal were cancelled.
Senate Democratic leader says Trump is doing Putin’s ‘dirty work’
Posting on X, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was reacting to the fallout of the tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The New York Democrat pledged his party would “never stop fighting for freedom and democracy.”
The rapid fallout from the meeting showed just how politically divided Washington is on continuing to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion.
Just Friday morning, Zelenskky had met with a bipartisan group of senators and several Republicans in attendance had left praising the deal he had been readying to sign with Trump.
“This is a huge step forward in securing mutual prosperity and peace for Americans and Ukrainians,” Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had said in a statement shortly before Trump and Zelenskky’s Oval Office meeting.
Instead, the meeting ended with Trump cutting off talks with Zelenskyy.
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, posted on X, “What an utter embarrassment for America. This whole sad scene.” (AP)
