According to sources speaking with the Financial Times, the meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky devolved into a shouting match. The US President urged his Ukrainian counterpart to accept an agreement to end the war.
FT reports speaking with “people familiar with the matter” who explained the meeting was a “shouting match,” with Trump “cursing all the time.” They said to push aside battlefield maps and told Zelensky to “surrender the entire Donbas region.”
The meeting was a setback for Zelensky, who had traveled to the US hoping Trump would approve selling Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine. Not only did the Ukrainian leader not secure the long-range missiles, but appears to have angered Trump.
Sources speaking with Axios described the meeting as “tough” and “bad.”
In recent weeks, President Trump has made public statements claiming that Russia was in trouble and Ukraine could be in a position to win the war. The sources speaking with FT said Trump delivered a different message in private to Zelensky.
The officials complained that Trump was repeating Putin’s talking points.
A European official said that Trump told Zelensky to take the deal or Ukraine would face real destruction. The President told the Ukrainian leader, “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed the meeting was “cordial.”
This is not the first time Trump and Zelensky clashed in a meeting. In January, in front of the press in the Oval Office, Zelensky, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance engaged in a shouting match.
However, Zelensky appeared to regain favor with Trump, and the President has expressed his frustration with Putin not ending the conflict. In July, Trump approved providing Kiev with intelligence for strikes on energy sites deep in Russian territory.
