Ukraine's future on the line after Zelensky-Trump car crash
What on earth now for Ukraine and Europe?
It’s hard to imagine a meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House that could have gone any better, at least for Vladimir Putin.
Or one that could have put Ukraine’s future any more on the line.
“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” was the official White House round-up this evening after a truly seismic showdown in Washington, which culminated in the Ukrainian President leaving early, a mineral deal unsigned.
“Make a [peace] deal or we’re out,” Trump demanded, as he accused Zelensky of “gambling with the lives of millions, with World War Three”.
And if he refuses to make one? “You'll fight it out… but I don’t think it’s gonna be pretty,” Trump warned.
A major gripe of Trump and his Vice President’s was Zelensky’s apparent lack of gratitude.
“Your country is not in a good place… you have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us… You’re not acting at all thankful and I’ll be honest, that’s not a nice thing”, Trump told the Ukrainian leader, who sat there desperately trying to contain his frustration.
On the theme of gratitude, Vance chimed in to back his boss up, keen to remind Zelensky that he “should be thanking the President for trying to bring an end to this conflict” rather than “attacking the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country”.
Throughout the excruciating encounter, Trump’s self-obsession took centre stage, as he sought to set the record straight that Putin “might have broken deals with Obama and Bush but he didn’t break them with me”.
“I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy,” he even told Zelensky at one point.
One fatal error of Zelensky’s was to attempt to convince Trump - through somewhat clumsy phrasing - that fighting Russian aggression was in America’s own interest.
Washington may not feel the effects of the war now, but "you will feel it in the future," he warned, in an apparent effort to persuade Trump to take the threat of Putin violating any future peace deal with Ukraine seriously.
This went down very badly. “You’re in no position to dictate how we’re gonna feel… We’re gonna feel very good and very strong”, fumed the US President, ego visibly dented.
What made the showdown particularly difficult to watch was the sheer unseriousness coming from the American side.
Trump remarked on Zelensky’s "tremendous hate" for Putin, before adding: "The other side" is not "exactly in love" with him either.
In another bizarre moment, a reporter chimed in to take issue with Zelesnky’s military clothing: “You’re the highest level in office in this country, and you refuse to wear a suit”. When Zelensky protested that he had bigger problems to worry about, what with his country at war and all, the reporter retorted: “A lot of Americans have problems, with you not respecting office.”
It felt on brand that this was the moment Trump decided to offer Zelensky an olive branch, reassuring him that he personally thought his military get-up looked very fetching.
This show of goodwill didn’t last long. The meeting essentially ended with Trump declaring “It’s gonna be hard doing business like this”, before taking some comfort in the fact that at least “this is gonna be great television”.
What on earth now for Ukraine and Europe?
Before the meeting went pear-shaped, Trump reluctantly told a reporter that Washington would still be willing to send arms to Ukraine until the war is finished. “But hopefully we won't have to send much because I'm looking forward to getting it done quickly."
It’s hard to know if even this holds true anymore.
Any semblance of progress made yesterday by Starmer has, at the risk of stating the obvious, been entirely undone.
This evening proved that half an hour is a very long time in politics.
"I think President Trump is on our side,” said Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, optimistically as he arrived at the White House.
Perhaps the most revealing line of all from Trump came less than an hour later, in which he set the record straight: "I'm not aligned with Putin, I'm not aligned with anybody. I'm aligned with the United States of America."
Caitlin Allen
Deputy Editor
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FIVE THINGS
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