- A rare arrangement of US-Ukraine minerals is turned off for now.
- The White House said the expected deal remains signed.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit moved to an oval office screaming matches.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suddenly left the White House on Friday without signing a rare land mineral deal after negotiations exploded after an oval office clash.
“He did not respect the United States of America in her beloved Oval office,” President Donald Trump posted in social truth, his social media platform. “He can turn when he is ready for peace.”
Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelenskyy in front of reporters during a tense scene in the Oval Office. Vance was excluded from past Zelenskyy media appearances and his opinion that the Ukrainian leader failed to express enough gratitude.
.@VP: “Do you think it is respectable to come to the United States Oval Office and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”@Komplot: “You don’t have the cards now. With us, you start to have cards … you are pic.twitter.com/tyyamfucj
– Quick Answer 47 (@Rapidresponse47) 28 February 2025
“In this whole meeting, did you say thank you once?” Vance asked Zelenskyy, “I think it is disrespectful for you to come to the Oval office to try to judge this in front of the US media.”
Zelenskyy said he was restrained to trust Russian President Vladimir because of his previous international agreements.
Trump quickly intervened, telling Zelenskyy that he was unable to encourage the US.
“The problem is, I empowered to be a harsh guy,” Trump said. “And I don’t think he would be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave, but you will either make a deal or we’re out. And if we’re out, you will fight it.”
A White House spokesman confirmed that the deal remained signed shortly after Zelenskyy left the bases.
Later in the afternoon, Zelenskyy posted a message that contained “Thank you” four times in just three sentences. “He also canceled a planned appearance in Hudson Intut, a conservative tank.
“Thank you America, thanks for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. Thank you @potus, Congress and American people. Ukraine needs right and sustainable peace, and we are working exactly on this. “
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, who often visited Ukraine, said he was not sure if the deal could be saved.
“I don’t know what will happen next,” Graham Fox News told. “I don’t know if you can repair the damage.”
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent had traveled to Ukraine directly to mediate an agreement that would give the US a financial action in the future of Ukraine. Trump has said he also wants to recover the $ 174 billion that the US has sent to Ukraine since Russia’s occupation in 2022. Experts estimate that the US is likely to be much less than the 500 billion dollars that Trump has quoted when discussing the deal. (Trump has falsely claimed that the US has given Ukraine much more help than it. Most of the US aid has also been spent inside the US to replenish the country’s weapons reserves.)
Trump has sought to mediate one end of the Russian-Ukraine war. Zelenskyy has led US security guarantees to be part of any mineral agreement, hoping it will prevent Putin from future aggression.