E-Paper
After clashing with Trump and Vance, Zelensky is now thanking every pro-Ukraine world leader, one tweet at a time
Ukrainian President Zelensky thanked world leaders for their support after a heated meeting with Trump and Vance, which led to diplomatic tensions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly thanked world leaders for their support after a tense meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance ended in a heated exchange. The Friday meeting, which was expected to strengthen U.S.-Ukraine ties, instead led to a diplomatic fallout, with Trump reportedly chastising Zelensky over his approach to securing aid.
Zelensky’s public response to criticism
After the meeting, European leaders quickly voiced their support for Ukraine, releasing statements reaffirming their commitment to Kyiv. In what seemed like a direct response to criticism from U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, Zelensky took to social media, personally thanking each leader who stood by Ukraine. Vance had earlier accused him of not showing enough gratitude for America’s continued military aid.
"Have you said ‘thank you’ once?" Vance reportedly challenged Zelensky during the meeting, according to CNN. The Ukrainian president’s public thank-you campaign appeared to be a direct rebuttal to this remark.
Clash over military aid and strategy
The meeting had been scheduled to finalise a rare minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, but negotiations collapsed after Trump and Zelensky clashed over Ukraine’s wartime strategy. Trump reportedly told Zelensky, "You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards."
Zelensky, pushing back, responded, "I'm not playing cards, I'm very serious, Mr. President."
Trump continued, accusing Zelensky of gambling with lives, saying, "You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people, you're gambling with World War Three."
U.S. officials suggest aid could be cut
Following the confrontation, senior Trump administration officials suggested that the U.S. might reconsider its military assistance to Ukraine. While there was no immediate change in aid policy, CNN reported that discussions were underway about potentially scaling back support.
When asked whether he would cut aid, Trump avoided giving a direct answer, instead saying, "It doesn’t matter what I’m considering. That was not a man that wanted to make peace, and I’m only interested if he wants to end the bloodshed."
Several U.S. officials criticised Zelensky’s handling of the meeting, claiming he was overly aggressive. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Zelensky’s approach made negotiations difficult.
"When you start talking that aggressively – and the president is a dealmaker, he made deals his entire life – you’re not going to get people to the table," Rubio told CNN. "So you start to perceive that maybe Zelensky doesn’t want a peace deal. He says he does, but maybe he doesn’t."
Calls for Zelensky to step down
As tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine escalate, some American officials are now questioning Zelensky’s leadership.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated, "Zelensky is either going to have to fundamentally change or go. I can’t believe most Americans, after what they saw today, would want to be partners with Zelensky."
Others have suggested that repairing U.S.-Ukraine relations will be difficult while Zelensky remains in charge. "It’s not clear how the bilateral relationship proceeds while Zelensky is still in charge … unless he can find a way to make this right with Trump," an anonymous U.S. official told CNN.
