This has never happened before: an American president insults the president of a foreign country in front of television cameras in the Oval Office, and then throws him out of the White House. What's next?
Can the US and Ukraine ever get closer again after the stormy scandal in the Oval Office? Republicans praise Trump, Democrats are angry, Europe declares its solidarity with Ukrainian President Zelensky. What's next?
"You're risking World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to this country," Donald Trump shouted in the midst of his dispute with Ukrainian President Zelensky. "Your country is in a big trouble", Trump declared, not allowing Volodymyr Zelensky to say anything more and adding that Ukraine cannot win this war.
"This kind of quarrel is not good for either side"
Zelensky left the White House after the scandal, but still gave an interview to Fox News and emphasized there again that the agreement on raw materials demanded by the United States is not enough to start peace talks with Russia. According to Zelensky, security guarantees from the United States are needed. "This kind of quarrel is not good for either side", said the Ukrainian president, adding that he was unable to change Ukraine's position towards Russia. "For us, they are murderers. The Americans are our best friends. The Europeans are our best friends. Putin and Russia are our enemies“, Zelensky said.
US President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of immediately resuming negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “He wants to come back immediately. But I can't do that“, Trump said in his first public appearance since the scandal in the Oval Office. Before flying to Florida, where he is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump said that Zelensky could come back again when he is ready to make peace. “He can't stand there and tell Putin this and that, he has to say that he wants peace and doesn't want to fight this war anymore.“
At the same time, Zelensky made it clear that he has no intention of apologizing to Trump. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a similar request to him, saying that Zelensky was wasting their time. It remains completely unclear whether there will be a second conversation between Trump and Zelensky in the coming days.
Is there any prospect at all?
What will happen after this scandal? Can Ukraine still count on US support? Can Trump and Zelensky ever talk to each other again? Republican Senator Lindsey Graham doubts this. According to him, Zelensky behaved disrespectfully. “I don't know if we will ever be able to talk to Zelensky again“, Graham said.
Republican Representative Mike Lawler was more reserved: “We can still salvage the situation. And it must be salvaged“, Lawler told PBS. “Failure would be catastrophic for Europe and the free world.“
“This would make Putin blush”
Many Republicans wrote on social media that Trump had shown force towards Zelensky. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told CNN: “This kind of humiliation and intimidation by the president and vice president was disgraceful. It was like an ambush.“
“The Kremlin must be popping the champagne,“ commented Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland. The way Trump and Vance insulted Zelensky and put on a "show full of lies and disinformation" would "make even Putin blush."
"The free world needs a new leader," said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas.
In light of the numerous statements from Europe in support of Zelensky, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CNN: "If tomorrow Donald Trump decides: I don't care about Ukraine, I don't care about Russia, I don't care about this war, and turns his back - who on this planet has any chance of bringing the warring parties to the negotiating table? The answer is: nobody.
"Trump is courting Putin"
Historian Timothy Snyder, who teaches at Yale University, argues that Trump is humiliating Zelensky and courting Putin: "If you think you're showing strength by yelling at your guest in front of the whole room, you're wrong," Snyder told PBS. "If you think you should be doing favors for countries that really want to destroy you, you're wrong. What Russia is doing to the United States right now is stealing our technology and hacking our infrastructure. What the United States is doing to the United States right now is sacrificing an 80-year alliance with reliable European partners for an alliance with Russia."
The planned signing of an agreement on raw materials also did not take place. The agreement, which included US access to rare earth metals stored in Ukraine, was seen by Trump as an important prerequisite for peace in Ukraine. According to an insider, Trump is no longer interested in such a deal.
The US will not plan operations against Russia?
Meanwhile, it became clear that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Armed Forces Cyber Command to stop planning actions against the Russian Federation. The ban also applies to planning offensive operations, The Record reports, citing its own sources.
According to The Record's sources, operations related to aid to Ukraine may also be reviewed and suspended. Earlier, the Cyber Command sent specialists to Kiev to strengthen "digital defense" of Ukraine and to study Moscow's capabilities, including for intelligence purposes. Russia is considered a bastion of global cybercrime and has been involved in numerous cyberattacks against American private companies and government agencies.
A few days ago, the US State Department suspended a program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under which hundreds of millions of dollars were provided to restore Ukraine's power grid after Russian shelling, NBC News reported on February 28. One of the sources of the television channel expressed the opinion that the decisions taken “will become a signal to Russia that America is not interested in Ukraine and the previously made American investments“.