FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s refusal to grant a key demand made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy precipitated their explosive confrontation during a live press event at the White House.
A stunned world watched Friday as Vice President JD Vance and Trump reprimanded Zelenskyy in full view of reporters, with cameras rolling. From the moment the Oval Office event started, the dynamic between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart was noticeably different from the two other press events Trump held with world leaders this week.
According to sources close to Zelenskyy, tempers had flared even before the event began. The Ukrainian president was apparently presented with a minerals for security agreement by the Trump administration prior to the press event, but the deal included no security guarantees to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy had warned repeatedly ahead of his trip to Washington, D.C., that, in order to reach a mineral agreement, Kyiv needed these security assurances. Even so, he angered Trump and Vance by rejecting the deal, the source said.
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President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Subsequently, just minutes after reporters asked their first questions, an aggressive spat unfolded between the heads of state that left officials behind the scenes scrambling to understand how the situation fell apart so quickly.
“We cannot just sign an … agreement without any substantial guarantees,” one Ukrainian defense advisor told Fox News Digital. “It’s not going to work. It’s just going to reward the aggressor.”
Zelenskyy’s refusal to sign a deal apparently contributed to the ire of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The White House has not confirmed the discussions that occurred ahead of the press event.
The heated spat unfolded after Trump suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022 because Trump wasn’t in office, blaming Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who sat in the Oval Office at the corresponding times.
Zelenskyy and Trump openly clashed at the White House Feb. 28, 2025, at a meeting where they were due to sign a deal on sharing Ukraine’s mineral riches and discuss a peace deal with Russia. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“Yeah, that’s exactly right,” Vance said.
Zelenskyy pointed out that Russia never stopped attacking Ukraine between 2014 and 2022, four years of which included Trump’s first term.
“Nobody stopped him you know,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Putin repeatedly violated bilateral agreements.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves the White House Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
“What kind of diplomacy are you … speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked at the White House after Trump said he was “aligned” with both Russia and Ukraine.
Vance interjected, saying, “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
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Zelenskyy has repeatedly pointed out that while the U.S. under the Biden administration approved substantial aid to Kyiv, it is Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front lines to stop Russian aggression that poses a threat to all of Europe and could embolden adversaries like China, North Korea and Iran, which run counter to U.S. interests.
“You have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future,” he argued.
An angered Trump said, “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
