Ukraine ‘gambling with world war three’, Trump tells Zelenskyy in fiery meeting

US military support for Ukraine hangs in the balance and talks over a minerals deal have collapsed following a disastrous White House summit in which Donald Trump warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was “gambling with world war three” and told the Ukrainian president to come back “when he is ready for peace”.

Zelenskyy left the White House early and a press conference to announce the minerals deal was cancelled after Trump gave Zelenskyy a dressing-down that followed an ambush led by vice-president JD Vance to shatter the fragile relationship between the two leaders.

The US president received the Ukrainian president on Friday to discuss a controversial mineral resources deal that Trump has said is the first step toward a ceasefire agreement that he is seeking to broker between Russia and Ukraine.

But the incendiary meeting on Friday degenerated into a shouting match after Zelenskyy suggested that Vice-President JD Vance, a skeptic of US support for Ukraine, should come to the country to see the destruction from the invasion and that Russia was responsible for the continued fighting.

The meeting had been due to continue behind closed doors, but was cut short after the open display of antagonism in the Oval Office.

Soon afterwards, Trump released a statement in which he suggested that the two had not signed the minerals agreement.

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” he said. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

During the public part of the meeting, Trump and Vance took turns to berate Zelenskyy, with Vance accusing him of carrying out “publicity tours” and Trump telling him: “You’re not really in good position right now.”

“Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Trump told Zelenskyy during one exchange.

Trump then delivered Zelenskyy an ultimatum, telling him that Ukraine must either “make a deal or we are out” – suggesting the US could walk away from negotiations and cut off support to Kyiv more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem,” Trump continued. “You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good … You don’t have the cards right now with us, you’ll start having problems right now.”

Trump also told Zelenskyy that “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me” over the impeachment scandal during his first term in office. “He wants to make a deal,” said Trump. “I don’t know if you can make a deal.”

At one point in the exchange, the Ukrainian ambassador to Washington appeared to be holding her head in her hands.

“The problem is, I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don’t think he’d be a tough guy without the United States and your people are very brave,” Trump said. “But you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

Trump ended the meeting by saying that Zelenskyy was not “acting thankful” and “that’s not a nice thing”.

“This is going to be great television,” he concluded. 

The personal relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has been strained since Trump’s previous administration, when he was impeached (though not convicted and removed from office) on the grounds that he had pressured Zelenskyy to investigate business dealings involving Joe Biden’s son Hunter in Ukraine.

But Friday marked a true low point in the relationship with the public blow-up coming as Ukraine is desperate for foreign military aid and international support to keep the country afloat amid its grinding defense from the Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy arrived in Washington on Friday after several weeks of tense negotiations in which he alleged that the US was pressuring him to sign a deal that it would take “10 generations to pay back”.

Trump has said that he wants the US to be repaid for providing military aid to Ukraine, but commentators have suggested that the deal looks more like a shakedown at Ukraine’s most vulnerable moment.

The deal provides a general framework for a joint investment fund that will take in revenues from the sale of Ukrainian deposits of graphite, lithium, rare earth metals, and oil and gas. But many of those resources are in areas close to the frontlines, and it is unlikely to provide the hundreds of billions of dollars that the US says it wants to recoup from its military aid to Ukraine.

Neither does it contain specific security guarantees that Ukrainian officials have sought during the negotiations, which have gone back and forth since the deal was first proposed by the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, during a visit to Kyiv earlier this month.

During a meeting with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Thursday, Trump had suggested that the American workers sent to mine Ukraine’s natural resources could serve as a “backstop”, a deterrent to further Russian aggression if a deal is made.

“We’ll have a lot of people working and so in that sense, it’s very good,” Trump said on Thursday. “It’s a backstop. You could say, I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country.”

The New York Times’ chief White House correspondent called it “one of the most dramatic moments ever to play out in public in the Oval Office”, while the New Yorker’s Susan Glasser described it as “the most shocking behavior by Trump and Vance I’ve ever seen in the Oval Office. An ambush.”

Even as Zelenskyy arrived at the White House, Trump sought to physically dominate the Ukrainian leader, telling reporters that Zelenskyy, who was wearing a black turtleneck, was “all dressed up”. Zelenskyy has not appeared in public in a suit since the Russian full-scale invasion three years ago, preferring to wear military-style clothing instead. Trump has complained about the Ukrainian leader’s style of dress.

Zelenskyy met with US lawmakers earlier on Friday. “An important visit to the United States,” he wrote of his meetings with a bipartisan delegation from the US Senate. “Our discussions focused on the continued military assistance for Ukraine, relevant legislative initiatives, my meeting with President Trump, efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace, our vision for ending the war, and the importance of robust security guarantees.”

Earlier on Friday, the White House removed a reporter from the Russian state news agency Tass, saying the outlet was not on the approved media list for Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy.