White House support for Ukraine appeared to completely collapse on Friday after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian President during a tense Oval Office meeting between the leaders, accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of not seriously looking for ways to end the ongoing conflict with Russia.
In a statement on social media following the meeting, Trump stated that 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.”
White House officials did not immediately clarify whether Trump’s statement means a full end to U.S. military and humanitarian support for Ukraine, which has received nearly $70 billion in military aid from America over the last three years.
The Pentagon has said it has no more money to replace equipment it has sent to Kyiv, and Congress is unlikely to continue such support.
RELATED
Zelenskyy was in Washington to sign a deal with the administration permitting American access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for its economic and security aid so far in the war. Officials in Kyiv have negotiated the agreement in an effort to salvage U.S. support as Washington draws closer with Russia.
The Trump administration has taken a harsh approach toward Europe in its opening months. At a gathering of countries who support Ukraine’s self defense in February, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Europe would need to assume far more responsibility for its own security, including in Ukraine.
At a separate conference in Munich later in the month, Vice President JD Vance warned European officials that the U.S. military was retrenching from the continent in favor of more vital areas of the world.
Friday’s Oval Office meeting started out cordial but quickly devolved into an angry debate between the three leaders.
At one point, Vance told Zelenskyy that he was “disrespectful … to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference.”
Trump then joined in.
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” he said. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should.”
In recent weeks, Trump has called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and accused the Ukrainian president of provoking the war, which Russia started. In the meantime, the United States has started negotiating a peace deal directly with Moscow, relegating Ukraine to the sidelines.
For his part, Zelenskyy warned that the United States would not be safe from Russian aggression forever, and that supporting his fight against the invading military force would benefit all free democracies.
“You have a nice ocean and don’t feel it now,” he said. “But you will feel it in the future.”
Zelenskyy left the White House after the shouting match, which was supposed to have been followed by a joint press conference with Trump.
The leaders of Britain and France visited Washington this week in an effort to lobby Trump to maintain American support for Europe and Ukraine specifically.
The Associated Press reported that Zelenskyy is still expected to sign a economic agreement with the U.S. aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come.
The deal, which is seen as a step toward ending the three-year war, references the importance of Ukraine’s security. Earlier in the meeting, before tempers flared, Trump said the agreement would be finalized on Friday.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
Read the full article here
