U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as U.S. Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
The fiery altercation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday (February 28, 2025) was shocking but not entirely unexpected, analysts say, with the way forward for Kyiv looking increasingly uncertain.
Trump-Zelenskyy clash in White House LIVE updates
U.S. President Trump has long been a critic of the United States’s billions in aid for Ukraine after Russia invaded it in February 2022, and had promised — without providing details — to end the war soon after coming to office.
On February 12, he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, appearing to start peace negotiations without involving Ukraine — a move that angered Kyiv and shocked European capitals.
Since then, Zelensky and Washington’s European allies have appealed for Mr. Trump to provide security guarantees for any truce, in order to ensure there are consequences if either side breaks it.
Mr. Trump, however, has refused to say if he would provide such guarantees, insisting Putin “respects” him enough not to break any deal.
On Friday (February 28, 2025) tensions erupted after Mr. Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, accused Mr. Zelensky of not being “thankful” enough for U.S. support.
“He can come back when he is ready for peace,” said Mr. Trump, with his press secretary adding that the Ukrainian leader and his entourage were asked to leave the White House after the Oval Office clash.
Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group (ICG), said Friday’s meeting was always likely to be tense.
“The performance by the President and Vice President in the Oval Office was unprecedented, but not altogether surprising given President Trump’s well-known feelings about US military support to Ukraine and the narrative about Russia’s war on Ukraine which he has promoted,” he said.
When asked, Mr. Trump and those in his administration have repeatedly refused to place responsibility on Moscow for starting the war.
On Friday, Mr. Trump appeared to imply that he was not criticising Mr. Putin because negotiations were ongoing.
‘Bound to happen’
Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP there was a long list of U.S. actions under Mr. Trump that indicated such a rupture was on the horizon.
He ticked off reasons including U.S. pressure on Ukraine, the way American officials describe Zelensky, Washington’s assessment of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the country’s attitude toward truce negotiations.
“All this shows that this rupture, this explosion, was bound to happen sooner or later,” he said.
What comes next is unclear, but it could augur badly for Ukraine, said ICG’s Finucane.
“There are rumors from the administration that it may curtail arms shipments to Ukraine currently in the pipeline under presidential drawdown authority,” he said.
Those arms shipments were approved by former US president Joe Biden as he was leaving office, in what appeared an attempt to cement billions in additional aid before Trump took office.
Speaking to Fox News after the tense White House meeting, Zelensky conceded it would be “difficult” for Ukraine to hold off invading Russian forces without US support.
He added, however, that he believed Kyiv’s relationship with Washington could be salvaged — but that he wanted Trump to be “really more on our side.”
In Europe, Friday’s developments were seen with alarm, with a number of EU powers — including France, Germany and Britain — quick to reiterate their support for Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas delivered an even stronger statement, appearing to question American leadership of the transatlantic alliance between European powers and Washington.
“Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” she wrote on social media.
More than a dozen European leaders are due to meet in London on Sunday (March 2, 2025) to discuss the war in Ukraine.
A special European summit devoted to Ukraine has also been called for March 6 by European Council President Antonio Costa.
Published – March 01, 2025 09:46 am IST