Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argues with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, 28 February 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE / JIM LO SCALZO / POOL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London on Saturday following an extraordinary confrontation with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in front of the White House press corps on Friday that left the transatlantic consensus on support for Ukraine in tatters.
Zelensky is in the UK for a summit of Kyiv’s allies on Sunday, where representatives from over a dozen European countries will discuss how to secure a “just and enduring peace” for Ukraine in light of the widening rift between Europe and the US on how the war in the country should end.
Speaking to Fox News after the remarkable exchange in the Oval Office, during which Trump told Zelensky “either make a deal or we are out” and Vance accused him of showing insufficient gratitude for US aid, Zelensky insisted that Kyiv’s relations with the Trump administration could still be salvaged.
Stressing the “historical” ties between the US and Ukraine and saying that the relationship was about “more than two presidents”, Zelensky told Fox News that he simply wanted both sides to “understand the situation correctly” before stating his determination not to “lose our friendship”.
The already tense mood at the photo call shortly after Zelensky arrived at the White House just before midday on Friday suddenly worsened when the Ukrainian president asked Vance “what kind of diplomacy” he thought was possible with Vladimir Putin, given that he had broken multiple ceasefire agreements reached since Russia illegally annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Vance responded by accusing Zelensky of being “disrespectful” and not thanking the US for its support, after which Trump raised his voice at the Ukrainian president, claiming he had “no cards” in peace negotiations and was “gambling with the lives of millions of people” and potentially risking the start of “World War III”.
Zelensky was subsequently asked to leave the White House without the minerals deal he was in Washington to finalise being signed. Trump later told reporters that Zelensky wanted to “keep fighting” the war whereas Putin wanted “to end it”.
As the diplomatic fallout from the unprecedented interaction continued around the world, an overwhelming majority of European leaders publicly rallied behind Zelensky, with over 20 European countries, including Germany, France and the UK, reaffirming their support for Ukraine, as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas wrote on X that the meeting had made it “clear that the free world needs a new leader”, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for an “immediate” summit between the US, EU and other Western countries to “speak frankly about how we intend to address today’s major challenges, starting with Ukraine, which we have defended together in these years”.
One notable yet unsurprising exception to the chorus of European support for Zelensky was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who wrote that “strong men make peace, weak men make war” and argued that Trump had “stood bravely for peace” during the meeting with Zelensky.
The reaction in Moscow was jubilant, with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev calling Zelensky an “insolent pig” who had received a “proper slap down” from Trump, while Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov announced a special show to celebrate what he called Zelensky’s “suicide in the White House”.
