How a public spat in the Oval Office could cost Ukraine the war

Hours after his public spat with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said their heated confrontation in the Oval Office was “not good for both sides”. In a Fox News interview after the meeting, Zelenskyy expressed regrets that the Oval Office talks with Trump and Vice President JD Vance devolved into a shocking display of acrimony between the leaders of two historically allied nations.

However, he insisted that despite this spat, the relationship between the two nations could be salvaged. When asked by Fox News if Zelenskyy owes an apology to Trump, the Ukrainian leader side-stepped the question. When pushed again, he said: “I think that we have to be very open and very honest. And I’m not sure that we did something bad.”

Meanwhile, European leaders soon started to rally around Zelenskyy as they saw the televised drama unfolding. The European Union, which has been an ally of Ukraine since the start of the war, made it clear that it will continue to support the war-stricken nation. Trump allies, on the other hand, applauded the American leader for what they called a display of “America First”.

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What happened

The Ukrainian leader had to leave the White House early, and the highly anticipated mineral deal between the two nations went up in the air after the intense clash between Trump and Zelesnkyy. While sitting in front of American reporters, the Potus berated his Ukrainian counterpart along with VP JD Vance.

“You’re not acting at all thankful”, Trump told Zelenskyy while talking about the support Ukraine has received from the US throughout the war. “You’re gambling with World War III,” the American leader remarked. The Ukrainian leader emphasised that he has been grateful for the support, but he was frequently interrupted by both Trump and Vance.

A scheduled press conference between the two leaders was subsequently cancelled, and the Ukrainian leader left the White House without taking any questions. Hours later, he only appeared in the 30-minute Fox News interview, where he attempted to salvage whatever was left in US-Ukraine ties.

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Zelenskyy still hopes for reconciliation

During the  interview , Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked the US for its support in the war against Russia. “From the very beginning, during three years of full-scale innovation, you helped us to survive,” he said. When asked if he thought that the meeting was an ambush, the Ukrainian leader said he did not know.

“It was just a really tough situation,” he said. Appearing on the network, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “absolutely not true” that the Oval Office spat was pre-planned by Trump or Vance. Zelenskyy concluded the interview with an appeal to the American people. “We are thankful and sorry for this,” he said, adding that he was confident he could salvage his relationship with Trump.

Meanwhile, as he headed to Mar-a-Lago, Trump kept up the pressure on the Ukrainian leader. “All of a sudden he’s a big shot because he has the US on his side,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out, and if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty. Because without us, he doesn’t win," he said.

Europe scrambles to support Ukraine

Soon after the video of the heated exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy started circulating online, European leaders rallied around Ukraine and expressed their support. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to both Zelenskyy and Trump after the debacle.

“Starmer retains unwavering support for Ukraine and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine”, a No 10 spokesperson said, adding: The prime minister looks forward to hosting international leaders on Sunday, including President Zelenskyy.

Meanwhile, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas went on to declare that the “free world needs a new leader”, condemning the whole incident. In a social media post, Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, wrote: “Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor.” “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” she added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other European leaders took a milder stance on the matter but made it clear that they would continue to support Zelenskyy. Amid the outpouring support, Zelenskyy thanked the European leaders for standing by him. Zelenskyy took to X, formerly Twitter, to thank leaders who have posted their support on the social media platform.

As of now, leaders of Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Moldova, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Croatia, the European Parliament, the European Commission and European Council has released a statement in support of Ukraine.

How this can be detrimental to Ukraine

The only rational thing for Ukraine is to salvage its ties with the United States. This is because losing the Americans can turn out to be detrimental to the country, which is still facing the wrath of the Russian forces. Since the initial stages of the war, Zeleskyy has been pushing for Ukraine’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

However, with this incident, it is quite likely that Trump might shut the doors of NATO to Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine might end up struggling to ensure post-war security and will remain constantly in fear of a Russian invasion again.

Apart from this, since the mineral accord proposed by Trump is up in the air, Ukraine can struggle to pay back the American arms sales. Many believed that the deal could have paved the way for American arms sales paid for by Ukraine with its mineral revenues. However, the idea now seems utopic. The biggest issue at hand would be that the recent clash between Trump and Zelenskyy leaves a big question mark on America’s future aid to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian.