As Ukrainian troops try to stave off Russia’s military from advancing through the eastern part of the country, they face tens of thousands of enemy soldiers.
But when Ukraine’s president sat in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, he faced a different kind of battle — the blunt testiness of the U.S. Trump administration. The combative exchange left Ukraine’s allies and many of its citizens in shock and dismay. Yet for others, there was pride in how Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood his ground.
“I was angry, obviously,” said Andriy Tkachuk, a Ukrainian soldier serving in the country’s north who spoke to CBC News by Zoom.
“We understand Trump and his administration have a political strategy, but when we speak about money, we forget about people.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance had a tense exchange at the White House on Friday, with the U.S. leaders calling Zelenskyy ‘disrespectful’ and calling for the Ukrainian leader to thank them for assistance.
Trump accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being disrespectful, ungrateful and an agitator “gambling with World War Three,” and he was told to leave the White House.
From mineral deal to meltdown
Zelenskyy’s visit was expected to culminate in the signing of a much-vaunted business deal that would see Ukraine give the U.S. partial access to its minerals, as payback for the tens of billions of dollars in aid and weaponry given to Ukraine.
U.S. officials were convinced Zelenskyy would sign the deal, but during the meeting in the Oval Office, he continued to press for the security guarantees that he said Ukraine needed in order for there to be a lasting peace.
Many Ukrainians saw it as a bold move and applauded Zelenskyy for sticking up for the country while sitting next to Trump, who has expressed a desire to negotiate with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin without Kyiv.
Zelenskyy’s critics, though, saw it as an unfortunate miscalculation that has further jeopardized Ukraine’s already-frayed relationship with the U.S., its biggest military backer — endangering its ability to keep fighting the war, or negotiate an end to it on more favourable terms.
“Some people don’t like Zelenskyy, some people like Zelenskyy,” said Tkachuk when asked by CBC News about how the soldiers in his unit were reacting to the meeting.
“But it’s not about Zelenskyy … it’s about our country.”
Tkachuk allowed CBC News to publish his image and full name, instead of being just identified by his call sign, because he is currently changing roles in the military, and because he said he felt he needed to speak openly during this “very important moment” for Ukraine.
U.S. military support
The soldier said he was not worried about the possibility of U.S. abruptly cutting off the flow of aid and weapons.
It was scarier, he said, three years ago when Russian tanks and soldiers poured over the border, and Ukraine was fighting without the sophisticated U.S. weapons, such as the Patriot Missile systems that the country now possesses.
Given Ukraine’s current strained relationship with the U.S., he said he believes Kyiv will have to rely even more on its other allies, including Europe and Canada.
After Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s heated White House meeting, The National’s Erica Johnson asks a former ambassador and a Russia expert to break down what it means for Ukraine, Russia and the rest of Europe.
But it’s hard to make up for what the U.S. has contributed and can contribute militarily.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the U.S. says it has “appropriated” more than $180 billion US for its Ukraine response.
That figure is substantially less than the $350 billion which the Trump administration says the U.S. has spent, without providing a breakdown.
As the heated clash between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance played out in front of television cameras, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, was seen bowing her head, holding her face in her hands.
Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian opposition MP based in Odesa, called the meeting a “disaster” in an interview Saturday morning with BBC News.
“It’s bad for the United States, but it’s catastrophic for Ukraine,” he said.
“We are bleeding every day. We are in a very difficult situation. We can’t lose our main military ally.”
He said emotions between the men had clearly boiled over, and that he wished Zelenskyy had stayed calm, “cold blooded” and composed in front of journalists.
Russian reaction
On the social media platform X, Goncharenko said the only one who would have been happy with the result of the meeting yesterday was Putin.
While there hasn’t been an official response from the Kremlin yet, Russian officials took to social media after the meeting.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, called Zelenskyy an “ungrateful pig” who “got a solid slap.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said it was a “miracle” that Trump and Vance restrained themselves from hitting Ukraine’s president.
By Saturday morning, Russian state media was leading with the acrimonious meeting, calling it a “public execution” and a “train wreck.”
CBC’s Lauren Bird breaks down how Russian media and officials have spun the Oval Office fight between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into a major loss for Ukraine.
On the streets of Kyiv, residents agreed the meeting was a blow to Ukraine, but not everyone shared the same opinion about how Zelenskyy handled himself.
While a few thought he should have been more diplomatic in his comments to Trump, overwhelmingly, people thought Zelenskyy stood his ground.
“Trump finally understood that Zelenskyy is a president that will not just give up,”said Mila, an HR manager who spoke to Reuters.
On social media, and in an interview with Fox News after leaving the White House, Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked the U.S. for its support for Ukraine, and spoke of the need for a strong partnership.
But he declined to apologize.
“No, I respect the president and I respect American people… I think that we have to be very open and very honest, and I’m not sure that we did something bad.”
Hope for Europe, Canada
Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Ukrainian parliament, told CBC News that he couldn’t believe what transpired in the Oval Office but was proud of Zelenskyy.
“I’m hopeful that somehow things will turn out better,” said Merzhko in an interview late Friday.
“I hope that this common sense will prevail and this wisdom will prevail, because in the entourage of Trump, there are people who understand what’s going on.”
But it will be hard to make amends with Trump. The visit to Washington ended with Zelenskyy and his team being told to leave, lunch was cancelled and questions swirled about what would happen next.
Trump later told reporters that he thought the Ukrainian president “overplayed his hand” and was not really interested in peace.
When Zelenskyy meets with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London this weekend, along with European leaders and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Merezhko knows the reception will be much warmer.
“We understand that without support, military aid from the United States, it will be very difficult,” he said.
“I suppose we can count on more support from our true friends.”
