Zelenskyy expresses gratitude to supporters with social media thank-yous

A day after US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance chastised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of not being thankful enough, Zelenskyy thanked dozens of supporters on social media on Saturday.

Following his tense confrontation with the new US government in the White House, Zelenskyy on X wrote “Thank you for your support” in individual responses to almost 30 expressions of solidarity from European leaders.

Zelenskyy had earlier thanked Trump, the US Congress, and the American people for their support and for his visit, despite the confrontation.

“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also sent multiple thank yous to European counterparts in a social media flurry on Saturday.

As Friday’s White House meeting degenerated, Vance asked Zelenskyy: “Have you said ’thank you’ once this entire time… in this entire meeting?”

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A planned press conference with Trump and Zelenskyy was then cancelled and Zelenskyy was asked to leave.

Despite the clash, Zelenskyy later told Fox News he believed that “of course” relations with the US could be repaired.

But he refused to apologise, saying: “I’m not sure that we did something bad.”

He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later on CNN called for Zelenskyy to “apologise for wasting our time.”