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Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to apologise over his extraordinary clash with US president Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance in the Oval Office but insists the relationship can be repaired.
Mr Zelensky left the White House after a meeting collapsed when JD Vance accused him of having “disrespected” the US.
Mr Trump reiterated the vice president’s claim, adding that Kyiv was “gambling with World War Three”.
Speaking to Fox News later on Friday, Mr Zelensky said: “I’m not sure we did something bad. I think maybe some things we have to discuss out of media.”
The pair were due to sign a vital minerals deal, but Mr Trump and Mr Vance lashed out after the Ukrainian president repeatedly brought up the issue of US security guarantees as part of a future peace agreement with Russia.
Mr Zelensky left with the deal unsigned. Mr Trump has no interest in reviving the minerals deal, a senior White House official said on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, European leaders flocked to the defence of Mr Zelensky after Trump and JD Vance unleashed the shocking attack during critical White House talks.
Sir Keir Starmer expressed his “unwavering support” for Ukraine and said he had spoken with both Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump over the phone.
Ukraine envoy’s reaction during Trump-Zelensky clash goes viral
Ukraine envoy’s reaction during Trump-Zelensky Oval Office clash goes viral
A video showing the Ukraine ambassador’s reaction to the fiery exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the Oval Office has gone viral. Oksana Markarova can be seen closing her eyes with her head in her hands during the heated clash at the White House on Friday (28 February). The world’s press watched as the two leaders clashed in an extraordinary exchange. Trump and Vice President JD Vance laid into Zelensky, saying he showed disrespect, driving relations with Kyiv’s most important wartime ally to a new low. The Ukrainian leader was told to leave, a US official said.
Tom Watling1 March 2025 08:27
Zelensky thanks dozens of world leaders for support
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has retweeted nearly three dozen messages of support from European and world leaders in the 12 hours since US president Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance publicly chastised him in front of cameras in the White House.
Mr Zelensky usually issues lengthy statements and updates on X but has responded to all 33 messages with the same line: “Thank you for your support.”
The full list of countries and leaders that Mr Zelensky has retweeted are as follows: Poland, Spain, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia (twice), Czech Republic (PM and President), Norway, Germany (ingoing and outgoing chancellor), Sweden, Portugal, European Parliament president, European Union commission leader, EU council president, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland (twice), Estonia, Finland, Croatia, Denmark, Romania, Austria (twice), Canada, Belgium, Slovenia, New Zealand.
Some, such as the two EU leaders, wrote their messages of support in Ukrainian.
A spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer has also issued a statement highlighting the UK’s “unwavering support” for Ukraine, though the prime minister has not written anything on X.
Tom Watling1 March 2025 08:03
How Russia is lapping up Oval Office spat
Russian officials are using Mr Trump’s talking points at the Oval Office spat to berate the Ukrainian president.
“Donald Trump is right: Kyiv regime is ‘gambling with World War III,’” said Dmitry Medvedev, a top official in Putin’s government.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, called the Trump-Zelensky meeting “historic”.
During the heated exchange the US president appeared to draw false equivalence in the war, claiming he was standing “for both Ukraine and Russia”.
“I’m aligned with the US, and for the good of the world, I’m aligned with the world, and I want to get this thing over with,” Mr Trump said.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova chided Mr Zelensky, saying he was “biting the hand that feeds him”.
Vishwam Sankaran1 March 2025 07:05
Zelensky’s argument against Trump’s potential ceasefire deal with Russia
US president Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that Russian president Vladimir Putin would not violate a ceasefire deal.
“I don’t think so. I think when we have a deal, it’s going to be the deal…I’ve known him for a long time now. I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word,” the American president said at the Oval Office on Thursday, speaking alongside British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
However, on Friday, during Mr Trump’s heated exchange with the Ukrainian president, Mr Zelensky raised questions on the effectiveness of a new ceasefire deal as called for by the American president.
“You know that we have conversations with him, a lot of conversation, many bilateral conversation, and we signed with him.. In 2019 I signed with him, the [ceasefire] deal, I signed with him, Macron and Merkel, we signed,” the Ukrainian president reiterated.
“But after that, he broke the ceasefire. He killed our people and he didn’t exchange prisoners. We signed the exchange of prisoners, but he didn’t do it,” Mr Zelensky said.
Vishwam Sankaran1 March 2025 06:46
Fact check: Misleading claims made by Trump and Vance in spat with Zelensky
Over the course of the intense 45-minute exchange, US president Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance made misleading claims about Mr Zelensky and Ukraine.
Mr Vance claimed the Ukrainian president “went to Pennsylvania” and “campaigned for the opposition”.
“Offer some words of appreciation for the US and the president who’s trying to save your country,” he said.
However, the 22 September meeting between Mr Zelensky and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro was not a campaign event but one held at an ammunition plant where the Ukrainian president thanked workers producing munitions for Ukraine’s war efforts.
During the meeting, Mr Trump also claimed that the US has spent $350 billion on Ukraine amid the war, but estimates suggest the actual amount spent could be in the range of $175 billion to $185 billion.
Vishwam Sankaran1 March 2025 06:30
Top US envoy advised against Trump-Zelensky meeting
The American president’s special envoy to the Ukraine War, retired General Keith Kellogg, reportedly “advised against” Mr Zelensky’s meeting with Mr Trump at the Oval Office.
Mr Kellogg had negotiated the now-deferred mineral rights deal between the US and Ukraine.
He “advised against” the meeting, “knowing that the relationship [between the presidents] needed to be strengthened” first, the NY Post reported, citing a senior US official.
Vishwam Sankaran1 March 2025 06:15
Rubio says frustrations over Zelensky ‘not unique’ to Trump administration
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that frustrations over Mr Zelensky were not exclusive to the Trump administration, pointing to former US president Joe Biden’s 2022 heated phone call with the Ukrainian president.
“These frustrations are not unique to President Trump. There was those frustrations in the previous administration,” Mr Rubio said.
“There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic,” he said, claiming that the Ukrainian president’s approach on Friday made negotiations more difficult.
Mr Rubio insisted that the Ukrainian president apologise for how the meeting unfolded.
Vishwam Sankaran1 March 2025 06:00
What happened in the Oval Office yesterday?
A vital deal between Ukraine and the US is in tatters after Volodymyr Zelensky was thrown out of the White House as talks with Donald Trump blew up into a bitter public row.
The US president and his deputy JD Vance angrily accused the Ukrainian leader of gambling with a third world war, claiming he was “disrespectful” and “ungrateful”.
To the shock of the world’s watching media, the Oval Office talks descended into a furious shouting match, ending with the Ukrainian president leaving without having signed a deal pivotal to securing US help in ending the war with Russia.
Mr Trump ejected Mr Zelensky, even when the Ukrainian team were said to have been begging for a “reset” in relations.
Alex Croft1 March 2025 05:40
What started the dramatic showdown which led talks to collapse?
The dramatic showdown in the Oval Office began when JD Vance jumped to the defence of the White House’s approach to peace in Ukraine.
Criticising Joe Biden’s approach, Mr Vance said: “The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy.”
Volodymyr Zelensky asked if he could respond. “Sure,” the US vice president replied.
Mr Zelensky then explained that Russian president Vladimir Putin does not have a history of abiding by ceasefires. “In 2019, I signed with him a deal with him… he broke the ceasefire. He killed our people and he didn’t exchange prisoners.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?” he asked, showing defensive body language with arms folded.
Mr Vance retorted that it is “for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media”. Donald Trump then weighed in and the apparent goodwill developed over the last 48 hours fell to pieces.
Alex Croft1 March 2025 05:25
Churchill ‘would be turning in his grave’ as Trump faces British backlash over Zelensky spray
Prime minister Keir Starmer declared his “unwavering support” for Ukraine as senior Conservative MPs, including Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, leapt to the Mr Zelensky’s defence after Trump accused Kyiv of “gambling with World War Three”.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said Sir Keir had “tonight spoken to both President Trump and President Zelensky.”
Whitehall editor Kate Devlin writes:
Alex Croft1 March 2025 05:10
