In an unprecedented argument live on TV, US President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday he should "be thankful," accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being "disrespectful" and "gambling with World War III".
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After weeks of intense negotiations and statements between Washington and Kyiv, the expectations were running high for the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Yet, probably no one expected it to turn into a heated argument live on TV, and now Trump is saying the raw minerals deal with Ukraine — which brought Zelenskyy to the White House on Friday — was off.
"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," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Friday.
"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," he announced.
The Friday meeting did not seem tense at first, but it changed in tone and became less diplomatic when US Vice President JD Vance told Zelenskyy that Ukraine didn't have enough people to continue fighting.
The Ukrainian president replied that JD Vance has not been to Ukraine to say this, adding "come and see".
Things got increasingly heated from this moment onward.
Zelenskyy emphasised the need for security guarantees, which Kyiv has repeatedly insisted upon. Trump interrupted Zelenskyy and told him to "be grateful" for what the US had already done to help Ukraine.
“You have to be more thankful. You don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards. But without us, you don’t have any cards,” Trump said.
"Your country is in big trouble," The US president continued, adding, "You are not winning this."
“If you could get a ceasefire right now, I’d tell you to take it so the bullets stop flying,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy replied, “Of course I want to stop the war,” when Trump interrupted him with “You say you don’t want a ceasefire”. Ukraine’s president then said he wanted a truce, but with security guarantees.
Reiterating that Ukraine could only defend itself for three years now because of the US military aid, Trump said, "If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would be have been over in two weeks."
"In three days, (as) I have heard from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Zelenskyy retorted.
'Just say thank you'
JD Vance also told Ukraine’s president to "just say thank you," accusing Zelenskyy of being disrespectful. "You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation to the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country," Vance said.
The US vice president referred to Zelenskyy's visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania last autumn.
The press conference by the two presidents, scheduled for after the meeting, has been cancelled, and Zelenskyy left the White House abruptly.
"Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you president, Congress, and the American people," the Ukrainian leader said in a post-meeting message on X on Friday.
"Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that."
Furthermore, House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Zelenskyy to fire his ambassador to the US amid the Ukrainian leader's escalating tension with Trump and his allies.
Following the visit, Johnson sent a letter demanding the immediate firing of Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, accusing her of interfering in the presidential election by organising the Ukrainian president's visit in October. He called the visit a "partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats."
"The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because — on purpose — no Republicans were invited," the Louisiana Republican wrote.
Zelenskyy toured the ammunition factory, thanking the employees who produce one of the most critically needed munitions for the war against Russia.
'Putin went through a hell of a lot with me’
During the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting on Friday, one of the journalists asked what the United States would do if Russia violated the ceasefire.
"What if anything? What if a bomb drops on your head right now? What if they break it? I don’t know. They broke it with (former US President Joe) Biden because they didn’t respect him. They didn’t respect (former US President Barack) Obama. They respect me," Trump answered.
The sitting US president also brought up an investigation based on suspicions of Russian influence in the 2016 US election and Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.
"Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia … Russia, Russia, Russia," Trump added, referring to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Trump also mentioned the laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, data from which was then used by the media as evidence of the former US president's alleged corruption.
"And then they said: ‘Oh, the laptop from hell was made by Russia ... The whole thing was a scam, and he (Putin) had to put up with that. He was being accused of all that stuff," Trump said.
"All I can say is this: he might have broken deals with Obama and Bush, and he might have broken them with Biden ... Maybe he did, I don't know what happened. But he didn't break them with me. He wants to make a deal," Trump said, expressing his confidence in Putin.
Trump was impeached during his first term as president in 2019 over a phone call he had had with the Ukrainian leader. During the conversation, Trump allegedly asked Zelenskyy about opening an investigation into Joe Biden, his main political rival, and his son.
Various officials said that Trump held up aid to Ukraine at the time over his demands to have its government investigate the Bidens.