Behind closed-door meetings at White House , US President Donald Trump urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to accept Vladimir Putin ’s terms to end the war , warning that Russia would “destroy” Ukraine if it refused.
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders descended several times into a “shouting match”, with Trump “cursing all the time”, according to Financial Times.
In the meeting, US president discarded maps of the frontline in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points that the Russian leader had made during their call the day before.
Though Trump later endorsed a freeze of the current front lines, the acrimonious meeting appeared to reflect the capricious nature of the US president’s position on the war and his willingness to endorse Putin’s maximalist demands.
The meeting occurred amid a renewed push by Trump to end Russia’s war following the ceasefire secured between Israel and Hamas. Zelenskyy and his team visited the White House hoping to persuade Trump to supply them with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. However, the US president ultimately declined to do so.
During Friday’s meeting, Trump appeared to have adopted many of Putin’s talking points verbatim, even when they contradicted his own recent statements about Russia’s weaknesses, European officials briefed on the meeting said.
According to a European official with knowledge of the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin had told him the conflict was a “special operation, not even a war”, adding that the Ukrainian leader needed to cut a deal or face destruction.
The official said that Trump told Zelenskyy he was losing the war, warning: “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”
At one point in the meeting, the US president threw Ukraine’s maps of the battlefield aside, the official familiar with the encounter said.
According to the official, Trump said he was “sick” of seeing the map of the frontline of Ukraine repeatedly. “This red line, I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there,” Trump said, according to the official.
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders descended several times into a “shouting match”, with Trump “cursing all the time”, according to Financial Times.
In the meeting, US president discarded maps of the frontline in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points that the Russian leader had made during their call the day before.
Though Trump later endorsed a freeze of the current front lines, the acrimonious meeting appeared to reflect the capricious nature of the US president’s position on the war and his willingness to endorse Putin’s maximalist demands.
The meeting occurred amid a renewed push by Trump to end Russia’s war following the ceasefire secured between Israel and Hamas. Zelenskyy and his team visited the White House hoping to persuade Trump to supply them with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. However, the US president ultimately declined to do so.
During Friday’s meeting, Trump appeared to have adopted many of Putin’s talking points verbatim, even when they contradicted his own recent statements about Russia’s weaknesses, European officials briefed on the meeting said.
According to a European official with knowledge of the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin had told him the conflict was a “special operation, not even a war”, adding that the Ukrainian leader needed to cut a deal or face destruction.
The official said that Trump told Zelenskyy he was losing the war, warning: “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”
At one point in the meeting, the US president threw Ukraine’s maps of the battlefield aside, the official familiar with the encounter said.
According to the official, Trump said he was “sick” of seeing the map of the frontline of Ukraine repeatedly. “This red line, I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there,” Trump said, according to the official.
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