Russia says its Ukraine goals will 'not change' after Zelenskyy-Trump spat

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday said that its goals in Ukraine remain unchanged after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the US that turned into a fiasco as his American counterpart Donald Trump bereted him in the Oval Office.

“Russia’s unchanging goals remain the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, as well as the recognition of the existing realities on the ground,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, accusing Zelenskyy of being “obsessed with continuing” the fighting.

Zelenskyy had seen the meeting in the Oval Office as an opportunity to convince the United States not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, Trump and his VP JD Vance laid into him, saying he showed disrespect, driving relations with Kyiv’s most important wartime ally to a new low. The Ukrainian leader was told to leave after the fiery exchange.

Earlier today, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council and a former Russian president called the Ukrainian president an “insolent pig” who got a “proper slap” in the Oval Office.

“For the first time, Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: the Kyiv regime is playing with the third world war. And the ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty. This is useful. But it’s not enough - we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine,” Medvedev said.

The White House showdown has left the Ukraine-Russia war peace negotiations in limbo. The falling-out also meant that Ukraine and the United States failed to sign a much-vaunted minerals deal that Kyiv hoped would spur Trump to back Ukraine’s war effort and potentially win support from Republicans in Congress for a new round of aid.

With inputs from agencies