 "US President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as US Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 28, 2025. File Image/Reuters")
US President Donald Trump will hold a meeting with his top officials on Monday to decide whether to punish Ukraine after Friday’s scenes at White House.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was at the White House to sign the minerals deal and hold talks with Trump. However, even before actual talks could start, Vice President JD Vance pounced on Zelenskyy during joint interaction with the press and berated him for being ungrateful and disrespectful. Trump joined in the thrashing and accused him of gambling with World War III. He said Ukraine would fall apart if the United States were to withdraw support.
After Trump cancelled the minerals deal’s signing and talks, he kicked out Zelenskyy from White House.
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After the humiliating visit to Washington DC, Zelenskyy arrived to a hero’s welcome in London where Europe’s leader rallied around him in a show of support and a message to Trump that the continent would stand with Ukraine come what may. At the same time, European leaders stressed that even though they are willing to do the heavy lifting regarding the aid and enforcement of any ceasefire, such efforts need to be supported by the United States.
Irrespective of the united stand of Europe, Trump appears to not be in any mood to forgive the purported disrespect at the hand of Zelenskyy.
ALSO READ: Starmer outlines 4-step peace process for Ukraine as Trump pushes Europe to take lead
Impact Shorts
View AllTrump will meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among other top national security aides on Monday to decide how to respond to Zelenskyy’s purported disrespect, according to The New York Times.
There are a range of options on the table for Trump to choose from, including suspending or cancelling US military aid in part or in full to Ukraine, as a punishment for Zelenskyy’s purported disrespect, as per The Times.
Separately, a Trump administration official told NBC News that the ball remains in Zelenskyy’s court and he needs to come to the table and make things right.
Trump’s allies, including Senator Lindsey Graham and House Speaker Mike Johnson have called for Zelenskyy’s resignation.
While those in Trump’s orbit have hailed the humiliation of Zelenskyy as a symbol of American patriotism, critics have said that it was an ambush and the argument was a staged pretext to cut aid to Ukraine. In recent weeks, Trump has, after all, gone from being critical of support to Ukraine to being completely hostile . He and his allies have been parroting Russia’s talking points for weeks: that Ukraine —not Russia— started the war, that Nato was responsible for the war, and that Zelenskyy was an illegitimate leader.
Trump and his allies have also lied about the extent of US aid to Ukraine. While Trump has falsely said the United States provided $350 billion in assistance to Ukraine, the actual amount was around $124 billion during January 2022 and December 2024.