Summary
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has clashed with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance in extraordinary exchanges in the Oval Office
- Trump bluntly accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three” and said he should make a peace deal with Russia “or we’re out”
- Zelensky said there should be “no compromises” with Russian President Vladimir Putin
- A much-anticipated minerals deal was not signed and Zelensky was told to leave the White House
- Speaking later to Fox News, Zelensky said the spat with Trump was “not good for both sides” but he thought the relationship could go forward
- UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with both Trump and Zelensky, a spokeswoman said, adding that he “retains unwavering support for Ukraine”
- Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022
Oval Office became the venue of an unprecedented spat
Voices were raised, eyes rolled, aspersions cast – and all in front of the world’s TV cameras.
The reaction was swift, both in DC and across the globe, with European allies throwing their support behind the embattled Ukrainian leader and Trump’s inner circle quickly taking to the American airwaves to defend the US president’s position.
We’re going to continue to follow the latest from the Ukraine peace talks, as well as the broader fallout from yesterday’s meeting in Washington. Stick with us.
Journalists asked Zelenskyy to wear a suit
Just before the heated exchange in the Oval Office, Zelensky faced questioning and comments over his choice to wear combat gear from a conservative journalist. The wardrobe question presaged the argument about thankfulness and respect.
“Why don’t you wear a suit? Do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have a problem with you not respecting the dignity of the office,” the reporter asked.
Zelensky has made a habit of wearing sweatshirts, usually adorned with the Ukrainian trident symbol, even when at important meetings with world leaders. He seemed unperturbed by the question.
“I will wear [a] costume after this war will finish,” he told the reporter. “Maybe something like yours, maybe something better… Maybe something cheaper.”
The question was posed by Brian Glenn, the chief White House correspondent for Real America’s Voice, a right-wing network with a show line-up chock-full of Trump allies.
It is unclear how salty the Ukrainian president meant to be in his answer – the word “suit” can be translated into Ukrainian as “kostyum” – and the news conference swiftly moved on.
But the issue of due respect was at the centre of the full-fledged argument that burst out in the Oval Office just minutes later.
Ukraine says seven injured in ‘massive’ Russian drone attack on Kharkiv
Ukraine says seven people were injured in a “massive” overnight drone attack on the north-eastern city of Kharkiv.
The state emergency service DSNS says 64 people – most of them patients – were evacuated from a three-storey medical facility that was on fire after being hit by one of the drones.
Residential buildings, a shopping centre and other civil infrastructure facilities were damaged in the city, the DSNS says.
In Russia, the country’s defence ministry reported that 48 Ukrainian drones had been “intercepted and destroyed” overnight in eight regions, including in Crimean peninsula which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014.