Trump has lurched toward Russia since taking over as president, shocking traditional allies in Europe and beyond and leaving Ukraine increasingly vulnerable. Friday’s outburst was the most public display of that shift.
The already tense meeting blew up when Vance stressed the need for diplomacy to resolve the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. Zelenskyy, his arms folded, countered that Putin could not be trusted and noted that Vance had never visited Ukraine.
“What kind of diplomacy are you talking about, JD?” Zelenskyy asked after recounting failed diplomatic efforts with Russia.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance shot back.
Zelenskyy openly challenged Trump over his softer approach toward Putin, urging him to “make no compromises with a killer”.
Trump, whose team said he and Vance were “standing up for Americans”, quickly took to Truth Social after the meeting to accuse Zelenskyy of disrespecting the United States.
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved,” he wrote, using an alternative spelling of the leader’s name. “He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
Trump later told reporters as he left the White House for a weekend at his Florida home that Zelenskyy needs to realise he is losing the war.
“What he’s got to say is, ‘I want to make peace’. He doesn’t have to stand there and say ‘Putin this, Putin that,’ all negative things. He’s got to say, ‘I want to make peace’. I don’t want to fight a war anymore,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy, asked during an interview by Fox News if his relationship with Trump could be salvaged after Friday’s eruption, said, “yes of course” and appeared to express some regret, adding “I’m sorry for this”.
Anxious Ukrainians following from afar largely rallied around their leader, but fretted about the prospects of continuing flows of US military aid that the country has relied on.
