US President Donald Trump clashed with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday
Donald Trump gave a seven word response when asked if he kicked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the White House during the televised meeting on Friday (28 February).
The President of the United States, alongside Vice President JD Vance, sat down with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office to discuss the ongoing war in Russia, along with a minerals agreement.
However, it didn’t take long for the encounter to escalate into a heated confrontation, which looks to have damaged US-Ukraine relations.
Tensions boiled over when Vance demanded that Zelenskyy should express gratitude for US’s military support to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy then responded with gratitude, but also highlighted the ongoing challenges his country still faces.
This is when Trump went on to criticise Zelenskyy, something he did a lot during the meeting, warning that Ukraine was ‘gambling with world war three’ without U.S. support.
US President Donald Trump clashed with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards,” he said.
Following the fallout, the 78-year-old was asked if he told Zelenskyy to leave the White House.
“I don’t have to tell you that,” he replied.
“I think you know the answer to that.”
This comes after Sir Keir Starmer told Zelenskyy he has ‘full backing across the United Kingdom’, after the two met in Downing Street on Saturday (1 March).
The two nations have signed a £2.26 billion loan deal for the UK to provide Ukrainian military supplies, which will be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets.
The meeting shocked viewers around the world (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
As cheers could be heard from outside, Sir Keir told the Ukrainian leader: “That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine.”
He added: “We stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take.”
Zelensky replied: “I saw a lot of people and I want to thank you, the people of the United Kingdom, [for] such big support from the very beginning of this war.”
After the controversial meeting in the White House, Zelensky has attempted to mend ties with the US.
In a statement, he said: “Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals.”
Taking to social media, the political leader added: “It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support. He wants to end the war, but no-one wants peace more than we do.
“We are the ones living this war in Ukraine. It’s a fight for our freedom, for our very survival.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the latest European leader to sit in Donald Trump’s hot seat this week – and it was a heated affair.
The pair came to verbal blows in the Oval Office earlier today (28 February), with the US president warning his Ukrainian counterpart that he was ‘gambling with World War III’.
Put it this way – Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, was left with her head in her hands after hearing the leaders lock horns.
As well as patting his own nation on the back for offering military support, Trump told Zelenskyy that Ukraine is in ‘big trouble’ and that the country is ‘not winning’ the conflict with Russia.
“If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks,” he fumed. “You don’t have the cards right now. You’re buried there, people are dying, you’re running low on soldiers.
“With us, you have the cards…You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War III! What you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country.”
The mention of World War III has obviously set alarm bells ringing for a lot of people, and a host of Brits have now been left wondering where the UK stands in all of this.
Zelenskyy’s disastrous visit came hot on the heels of Sir Keir Starmer’s sit-down with Trump, where the leaders both vowed to nurture the longstanding transatlantic relationship.
Despite their meeting appearing very chummy and Trump describing the UK Prime Minister as a ‘special man’, the pair took opposing views on what to do about Ukraine.
Keir Starmer and Donald Trump put on a united front as they sat down together earlier this week (Carl Court – Pool/Getty Images)
Trump stated that ‘if it [a peace deal] doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all’, while Starmer insisted that ‘history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader’.
The president insisted that the US would ‘always be with the British’, but seemed to suggest he wouldn’t follow the UK’s suit by sending soldiers over to Ukraine to enforce any peace deal.
The Labour leader recently declared that he is ‘ready and willing’ to send UK troops to the war-torn country, while he also drastically amped up the UK’s defence spending.
According to Trump, UK soldiers would be able to ‘take care of themselves’ in this peace-keeping scenario.
When asked if he would bolster the British military in Ukraine with US forces if necessary, Trump responded: “If they need help, I’ll always be with the British, okay? But they don’t need help.
“The British have incredible soldiers, incredible military and they can take care of themselves.”
So… as Starmer is somewhat stuck in the middle amid Zelenskyy and Trump’s spat on Friday, where does the UK government go from here?
The UK Prime Minister has been an avid supporter of Ukraine (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Well, according to reports, Downing Street will stand firm.
Sources told Sky News that the government’s position – which the insider described as ‘unwavering support for just and lasting peace that ensures Ukraine’s sovereignty and security’ – remains unchanged.
Reiterating Starmer’s ‘no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine’ stance, the source then added: “Let’s see what happens in coming days.”
Trump quickly issued a statement regarding the drama in the Oval Office on his platform Truth Social, before Zelenskyy shared a response of his own.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also shared her thoughts on the explosive exchange in a post on X too, saying ‘respectable diplomacy is essential for peace’.
“A divided West only benefits Russia,” Badenoch wrote. “Now is the time for more cooperation, not less. Any peace agreement must be negotiated with Ukraine at the table, and will need security guarantees.
“We cannot lose sight of the fact that tonight air raid sirens are sounding in Ukraine.”
On Sunday (2 March), Starmer will hold talks in Downing Street with Zelenskyy and other European leaders in the hopes of working out how to secure ‘lasting and enforced’ peace in Ukraine.
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Donald Trump has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he’s ‘gambling with World War Three’ in an explosive discussion at the White House.
On Friday (28 February), the pair – along with Vice President JD Vance – met in the Oval Office where they discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a clip shared online, Trump can be heard telling Zelenskyy: “You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards … You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War III!”
The pair could be seen arguing as a heated discussion escalated.
Trump could be heard telling the Ukrainian president: “You either make a deal or we are out.
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.
“We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel, because you’re in no position to dictate that… You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.
“We’re going to feel very good and very strong.
“You’re not in a very good position, you’ve allowed yourself to be in a bad position… you don’t have the cards right now… you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
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Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy he was ‘gambling with World War Three’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
At one point, Vance interjected, asking the Ukrainian president: “In this entire meeting, have you said thank you?
“You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October, offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.”
Trump added: “Your country is in big trouble. Wait a minute. No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.”
Vance asked Zelenskyy if he had said ‘thank you’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The White House has since responded to the exchange, with Trump’s special assistant and communications adviser Margo Martin writing on X: “President Trump and Vice President Vance will always stand for America and those who respect our position in the world. America will never be taken advantage of.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump later added that Zelenskyy could ‘come back when he is ready for peace’.
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was 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,” he wrote.
“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.”
Recorded at the Oval Office, the US president accused the Ukrainian president of ‘gambling with World War III’. Zelenskyy ended up leaving the White House early, later saying he was ‘thankful to the president’ and confident that their relationship can be salvaged.
The Ukrainian then arrived in the UK yesterday where he met with the Prime Minister at Downing Street. And Starmer appeared on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as he said Trump and Zelenskyy’s clash made him feel ‘uncomfortable’.
“Nobody wants to see that,” he said of the two leaders’ exchange, adding: “Clearly, you know, there’s a lot of tension. The cameras were on.”
The labour leader said the important thing is ‘how to react to that’.
“There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not,” Starmer explained.
Starmer met with Zelenskyy on Saturday. (Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)
“The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelenskyy, then invite President Zelenskyy for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards.”
The Prime Minister said his reaction was: “We have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we’ve had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.”
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Trump had strong words for Zelenskyy. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Speaking of Trump, he added: “I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.”
As the world reacts to the tense exchange between Zelenskyy and the US president, Starmer explained that it has been agreed that the UK along with France ‘and possibly one or two others’ will now work with Ukraine ‘on a plan to stop the fighting’.
“And then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States,” he added.
After accusing Zelenskyy of ‘gambling with the lives of millions of people’, Trump shared a statement on his Truth Social platform.
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure,” he wrote.
“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.”
Featured Image Credit: BBC
