Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s prediction that an end to his country’s years-long war with Russia is “still very, very far away” elicited a stern rebuke from President Donald Trump on Monday after an explosive confrontation at the White House last week.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump exclaimed in a post to Truth Social, reacting to a report from the Associated Press.
He then appeared to reference British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying that Europe should do the “heavy lifting” to reach a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia while stressing that the effort “must” have support from the United States to succeed.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added. “What are they thinking?”
Zelensky, who met with European leaders over the weekend, said that he expected Ukraine’s “relationship” with the United States to “continue” despite a rare earth minerals deal being cast aside following his fiery exchange with Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday over ending the Ukraine-Russia war during which the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv.
The argument reached a crescendo when Trump told Zelensky that he was “gambling with World War III” by not doing more to seek peace with Russia after the Ukrainian president suggested the United States would experience the consequences of the war in the future.
In an interview on Fox News over the weekend with “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Zelensky “was there to strike some sort of make-believe bargain” that might include $300 billion in reparations and security guarantees rather than to find a viable path toward peace with Russia.
“And, eventually that just ran its course,” Lutnick said. “And Donald Trump said, I can’t take this nonsense anymore, and made it crystal clear he’s the peacemaker. And if Zelensky’s not interested in peace, then he should go home and think about it.”
