Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump, and US Vice President J.D. Vance argued during press statements before the start of negotiations on February 28.
Points of attention
- Zelensky emphasized that after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, no one was able to stop Putin.
- Trump emphasized the importance of American support for Ukraine and accused Zelensky of ingratitude.
Zelenskyy argued with Trump and Vance about the war
The Ukrainian president said that after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, no one was able to stop Putin.
J.D. Vance didn't like this, and he said that Ukraine has problems with mobilization and should be grateful to Donald Trump, who is "trying to prevent the destruction of his country."
Zelensky responded that Vance should come to Ukraine, and a scuffle broke out between them, in which Trump also intervened.
Zelensky said that the United States will feel the consequences of the war, despite the fact that it is separated from the European continent by an ocean.
To this, Trump stated that "you can't dictate to us how we feel" and that Ukraine is "not in a very good position" right now.
The presidents began to interrupt each other in front of the cameras, and Trump again repeated his baseless claims that Ukraine had received “$350 billion” in aid from the United States.
He also told Zelensky in a raised voice that if it weren't for American weapons, the war would have ended in a few weeks. Zelensky replied that he had already heard that from Putin, only he had said "three days."
HEATED Argument between US President Donald #Trump & #Zelensky
— Sumit Chaudhary (@SumitDefence) February 28, 2025
Trump said.
"You are showing us disrespect.
We are heading towards World War III, you have no right to play with it.
You should be grateful. It will be very difficult to run a business like this.
"You don't have… pic.twitter.com/aN53Ct8uNy
Vance also publicly accused Zelensky of allegedly participating in Kamala Harris's election campaign.
The US president told Zelensky that he “should be grateful” and accused him of Ukraine “playing with World War III.” He also said the Ukrainian president’s words were “very ungrateful,” Reuters reports.
At one point, Trump told Zelensky that "either you make a deal or we're leaving."
The New York Times wrote that the skirmish "became one of the most dramatic moments ever played out publicly in the Oval Office."
