Trump scolds Zelensky on live TV, accuses him of playing with World War III

WashingtonThe long faces at the reception anticipated a cold and distant meeting, but not that the negotiations would end up blowing up. After booing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky live, Donald Trump has published a message on Truth Social saying that the Ukrainian is not "ready" for peace. Zelensky has already left the White House and the joint press conference scheduled after the meeting has been cancelled. The White House confirms that the agreement on Ukraine's minerals, the initial reason for the visit, has not been signed.

The Ukrainian has left a table where he was never offered a chair and where he was never wanted. Trump himself made it explicit last week saying that his presence was not necessary, while the American delegation decides the future of the country at war with Russia.

Trump has accused Zelensky of "disrespecting America in its cherished Oval Office" and said that "he can come back when he is ready for peace." "We had a very significant meeting at the White House today. Much was learned that would never have been understood without a conversation under such fire and pressure. It is amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for peace if the United States is involved," the tycoon wrote.

For his part, Zelensky has responded to Trump with another post on X: "Thank you, America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you, President, to the Congress and to the American people. Ukraine needs a fair and lasting peace, and we are working precisely to achieve it."

The Ukrainian's departure from the White House is the final blow to the deteriorating relations between Washington and Kiev, leaving Europe in a much more complicated position in the middle of the conflict. On Sunday, Zelensky is expected to participate in the meeting that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called in London. Meanwhile, Moscow is sure to smile at the images of a powerless Zelensky in hostile territory while Trump was spurred on by the aggressiveness of his own people, who played with the advantage of language and being on their turf.

Before cornering the Ukrainian, the US president had insisted in the press that he is not aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Shortly after Zelensky's departure, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's adviser, described the moment in the White House as "historic" in X. Dmitriev is the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and attended recent U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia.

The White House later dispatched Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close Trump ally, to tell reporters that Zelensky should consider resigning. “Either he should resign and send someone we can do business with, or he should change,” Mr. Graham said outside the White House.

“Without us you have no cards.”

Minutes before the breakup, Trump had told Zelensky inside the Oval Office that he should be "grateful" and accused him of playing with World War III. "You're not winning this [the war]," Trump told him, raising his voice. "Without us, you have no cards," he told Zelensky. It all started when Vice President JD Vance lashed out at the Ukrainian and told him he was disrespectful.

Zelensky wanted to make a point about Vance's previous comments on the war. "He [Putin] occupied large parts of Ukraine, parts of the East and Crimea in 2014. So for many years, I'm not just talking about Biden, but in that time there was Obama, then Trump, then Biden and now Trump, thank God. But during 2014 nobody stopped him." Here, the Republican has already started to interrupt him.

Trump and Vance surrounded Zelensky, raising their voices and telling him he should be grateful. "You should be grateful to the president," Vance insisted, accusing him of bringing "propaganda" to the table. The atmosphere continued to escalate, with Trump interrupting Zelensky: "Your country is in big trouble." And he again bit back: "If you hadn't had our military equipment, this war would have been over in three weeks."

"The problem is that I've given you the power to be a tough guy, and I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave. But either we come to an agreement, or we're out, and if we pull out, you'll settle it with blows. And I don't think this is pretty, but you don't have the balls to" conar Zelensky. At that moment, the Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, who was also present in the Oval Office, covered her face with her hands. At the end of the conversation, Trump made a mockery of it and said: "We've seen enough. It will make for good television content."

"We've had some very good conversations with Russia. I've spoken to President Putin and we'll try to bring this to a conclusion, whether it's something you want or he wants," the Republican told the Ukrainian at the start of the meeting. What Zelensky has wanted from the beginning is to obtain security guarantees from Washington, but Trump has already made it clear to him that this "doesn't worry me now": "First I have to close the deal."

The US president, who has not stopped reinforcing Russia's position since the first bilateral talks began - excluding Kiev - has denied concerns about the possibility of being aligned with Putin: "I'm not aligned with anyone. I'm aligned with the United States and for the good of the world. t made it clear to Zelensky that "you will have to make some concessions, but they won't be as big as some think." He has insulted him - "dictator", a qualifier that this Thursday He denied that he had dedicated it to her– and during which has been increasingly leaning towards Moscow, the arrival This Friday by Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House represents a slight improvement in relations between Washington and Kiev. An improvement that was evident hours before the interview, when Trump, in the presence of the premier British Prime Minister Keir Starmer lowered the tone against his Ukrainian counterpart. Even so, when the Republican received Zelensky, the discomfort was palpable. The Ukrainian could only muster a half-smile. The president also made fun of the Ukrainian's clothing, who has been wearing military clothes since the beginning of the war: "You're very well dressed today."

Seventeen days have passed since the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent showed up in kyiv with a draft for the agreement on Ukrainian rare earths, which both leaders signed this Friday. Seventeen days in which Zelensky and Europe have tried to get Washington to commit to guaranteeing Ukraine's security, but the text still does not explain it.

Not even the visits from Macron, Last Monday, nor from Keir Starmer, this Thursday, They have managed to seal them, beyond many vaguenesses. And without safeguards, a hypothetical lasting peace is not possible, believe Zelensky and his European allies. Macron's warning about how in 2014 the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, already broke a peace agreement due to lack of security guarantees and Starmer's insistence on the issue only found a wall. Trump insisted yesterday that he trusts Putin to end the war. "I don't believe it [that Putin will violate the peace], that will be the agreement," he told reporters.

The last time the two leaders met in person was last December, in the framework of the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. The meeting was mediated by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who just on Monday of this week began the dizzying round of meetings with Trump, which has now concluded with Zelensky's visit. Details of the meeting were not released, but the photo from the Elysee Palace that Macron shared on Twitter appears to have aged poorly in a matter of months. "United States, Ukraine and France. Together on this historic day. Reunited at Notre-Dame. We continue our joint efforts for peace and security," The Frenchman wrote in the post where he shared the image.

The prospect of an agreement that would give In the United States, access to billions of dollars in natural minerals and rare earths from Ukraine is a very risky political bet by Kiev, given the unpredictability of the Republican president. Trump, in fact, sees in the agreement not only great business opportunities, but the best security for Ukraine. He also stated that he has "a lot of respect" for Zelensky, which he considers "very brave."

With the rapprochement with Putin, Trump has pincered Ukraine and Europe to remain in a strategic position: on the one hand, he gains access to key minerals to continue competing against China in the race for the development of artificial intelligence; and in turn, the vagueness of the commitment with Kiev does not oblige him to reactivate support in the event of a new Russian aggression, while he keeps the card of being able to make Congress approve the sending of new military aid packages - under the argument of defending the economic interests of the United States - if the relationship with Putin becomes cloudy. However, there is one thing that is not clear: despite obtaining rare earths from Ukraine in the face of China's ban on exporting more of these minerals to the US, Beijing continues to control the refining of rare earths and many countries are forced to do so through the Asian giant.

Trump also anticipated "a very good meeting" with him and assured that efforts to achieve peace "were moving forward quite quickly." He even said: "We want to work with him and we will work with him. I think the president and I really have a good relationship, perhaps it has been a little complicated." He also stressed: "The relationship between Zelensky and Putin is not good, I don't know if you have noticed." Washington's rapprochement with Moscow continues to be the norm, while friction persists with Kiev. Trump praised the Russian president and stressed that he is doing "a good job" to achieve the peace agreement.

Ambiguity also looms over the day after the supposed peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is signed. Neither the male effusiveness nor the royal invitation of the European spokesmen has been enough to clarify what will happen with the European peacekeeping troops that both Macron and Starmer are willing to send to the territory. Trump told the Frenchman that Russia would not oppose it, but the Kremlin has already denied it. For the moment, the American president has opted to say that a solution will be found that "satisfies" all parties. Yesterday, Starmer had to follow Trump's words and repeated the same message as the Republican: first the agreement must be signed to decide what happens with the peacekeeping troops.