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Ukraine’s president would have been hoping to leave the White House on Friday after positive talks with Donald Trump, capped with the signing of a minerals deal giving the US a real stake in his country’s future. Instead, after their initial meeting descended into an extraordinary ten-minute shouting match in front of the world’s media, Volodymyr Zelensky was told to leave before the pair could even take the stage for a scheduled news conference. And the minerals deal, which had been trailed and praised by both sides this week, was left unsigned.
The angry exchanges, which saw Zelensky clash with Trump and his Vice-President JD Vance, featured several major flashpoints. Here are four of the most fiery – and the politics and feeling that lies behind them.
1) Tempers flare between Zelensky and Vance
While there was half an hour of cordial talks and formalities at the start, tensions began to boil over in the Oval Office when Vance said the “path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy”. Zelensky interjected, referencing Russia’s aggression in the years before its full-scale invasion three years ago, including a failed ceasefire in 2019. “Nobody stopped him,” he said of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you talking about? What do you mean?”
2) ‘Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel’
After Vance challenged the Ukrainian president over problems he’s had with the military and conscription, Zelensky replied: “During the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have a nice ocean and don’t feel it now, but you will feel it in the future.”
3) ‘You haven’t been alone’: Trump fires back
At one point later in the conversation, Zelensky said: “From the very beginning of the war, we have been alone and we are thankful.” This angered Trump, who has repeatedly framed the war as a drain on American taxpayers. “You haven’t been alone,” he said. “You haven’t been alone. We gave you – through this stupid president – $350bn,” Trump said, a reference to Biden.
4) Zelensky pushes back – at what cost?
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” said Trump. “It’s going to be a tough deal to make because the attitudes have to change.” The president and vice-president reprimanded Zelensky, appearing most angered by what they perceived as his “attitude”. “Just say thank you,” Vance demanded at one point. Zelensky’s responses – which were to fact-check the two far more powerful men and argue his corner – seemed driven by the existential nature of this moment. He has spent three years defending his country from invasion, while also trying to hold together a society and its political leadership that Putin has tried to drive apart.
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