Zelensky leaves the White House after clashing with Trump
BBC NEWS | Published March 1, 2025
European leaders have rallied behind Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump’s furious exchange with the Ukrainian president in the White House.
The leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands were among those who posted social media messages backing Ukraine – with Zelensky responding directly to each one to thank them for their support.
The Ukrainian president has arrived in London to attend a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who “retains unwavering support for Ukraine”, Downing Street said.
It comes after extraordinary scenes in the Oval Office on Friday as US President Trump clashed with Zelensky, telling him to make a deal with Russia “or we are out”.
Image caption,Poland’s Tusk and France’s Macron were among those posting messages of support to Zelensky
At one point, Trump told Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support during Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, and that he was “gambling with World War Three”.
As a flurry of supportive messages for Ukraine were posted by European leaders following the row – along with posts from the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand – Zelensky replied to each one: “Thank you for your support.”
French President Emmanuel Macron posted: “There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago – and to keep doing so.”
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the Netherlands supports Ukraine “now more than ever”, adding: “We want a lasting peace and an end to the war of aggression started by Russia. For Ukraine and its people, and for Europe.”
Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that “no one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine”, with his replacement-in-waiting Friedrich Merz adding that “we stand with Ukraine” and “we must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war”.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you,” while his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk wrote: “Dear [Zelensky], dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Zelensky: “Your dignity honours the bravery of the Ukrainian people.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted that his country had “proudly supported the brave people of Ukraine in their struggle to defend their sovereignty against the brutality of Russian aggression and in support of international law”.
There were also supportive messages for Ukraine from political leaders in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Romania, Sweden and Slovenia.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban voiced his support for Trump, writing: “Strong men make peace, weak men make war. Today President @realDonaldTrump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr President!”
Zelensky left the White House early following his row with Trump – but afterwards thanked the US president on social media for his support, saying: “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Writing on messenger app Telegram on Saturday, Zelensky said it was “very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after”.
“It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world,” he added.
In an interview with Fox News following his White House visit, Zelensky said his row with Trump was “not good for both sides” but he thought the relationship could be salvaged.
The pair interrupted each other repeatedly in front of the media during what was supposed to be a prelude to the two leaders signing an agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals.
Friday’s conversation soured after the US Vice-President JD Vance – who was sitting alongside other politicians in the room – told Zelensky that the war had to be ended through diplomacy.
Zelensky responded by asking “what kind of diplomacy?”, referencing a previous ceasefire deal in 2019, agreed three years before Russia’s full-scale invasion when Moscow was supporting and arming separatist fighters in Ukraine’s east.
The vice-president then accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and “litigating” the situation in front of the media.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for a summit “without delay” between the US, Europe and allies on Ukraine.
Sir Keir’s crunch talks at Downing Street on Sunday will see European leaders gear up efforts to police a future Ukraine peace deal.
The UK prime minister believes a deal will have to involve US military assets providing surveillance, intelligence and potentially warplanes giving air cover to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
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US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, February 28, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL | Published March 1, 2025
European leaders threw their support behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a raised-voice spat on Friday with Donald Trump sent shockwaves across the world, casting doubts over efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The US president openly berated Zelensky for not being “thankful,” and later accused the Ukrainian leader of “not being ready for peace” and having “disrespected” the United States in the “cherished Oval Office.” He also accused Zelensky of “gambling with millions of lives” and suggested his actions could trigger World War III.
In response, European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa assured Zelensky that he was “never alone.”
“Be strong, be brave, be fearless,” wrote the European commission and council presidents in a joint statement on social media, telling Zelensky: “We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas questioned the United States leadership of the transatlantic alliance between European powers and Washington.
“Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” she wrote on social media.
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas holds a press conference during the EU’s foreign affairs council at the EU headquarters in Brussels on February 24, 2025. (JOHN THYS / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia was the “aggressor” in the Ukraine war.
“There is an aggressor which is Russia. There is an aggressed people which is Ukraine,” Macron told journalists, adding: “We were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to continue to do so.”
He later went further to say that “if anyone is playing at World War III, it’s Vladimir Putin,” referring to Trump’s accusations against Zelensky.
Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz assured his support to Zelensky in a posting on X.
“We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war,” Merz said. The outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz also voiced support for Ukraine, as did Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who added that Kyiv’s “quest for peace & security is ours.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of the closest partners of both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanked Trump for standing “bravely for peace.”
“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” Orban wrote in a post on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a joint news conference after their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on September 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for the United States, Europe and their allies to gather over the Ukraine war “without delay.”
“A summit without delay is needed… to talk frankly about how we intend to tackle today’s major challenges, starting with Ukraine, which together we have defended in recent years,” she said.
Staunch Kyiv ally Poland moved to reassure Ukrainians after the dispute.
“Dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X in a post addressed to Zelensky.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood with most European leaders to echo his support for Ukraine ahead of hosting Zelensky this weekend.
Starmer “is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said, adding he spoke to both leaders in the aftermath of the White House meeting.
Other Ukrainian allies rallied around the country, with Canada saying Kyiv was not only fighting for its freedom but also “ours.”
Denmark described its “pride” in supporting Ukraine while Sweden referred to Ukrainians as “friends.”
US Democrats: Trump ‘doing Putin’s work’
Senate Democrats accused Trump and his Vice President JD Vance of siding with Putin.
“Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work,” Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer posted on social media.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 3rd Tank Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces ride atop a T-72 tank at an undisclosed location in Kharkiv region on February 10, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey Bobok/AFP)
GOP Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska bemoaned the meeting as “a bad day for America’s foreign policy.”
“Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom,” Bacon in an emailed statement.
Members of Trump’s cabinet and other Republican lawmakers however cheered on the president.
“What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful and I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally who has previously been a staunch supporter of Ukraine.
“He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Russia: ‘cocaine clown’ Zelensky
Russia also cheered on Trump’s berating of Zelensky.
“For the first time, Trump told the truth to the cocaine clown’s face,” said former president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, referring to Zelensky.
Kirill Dmitriev, one of Moscow’s negotiators in the first high-level talks between Russian and US officials since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine, branded the spat between the two leaders as “historic.”
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