How the Trump, Zelensky meeting went off the rails

By Brett Samuels, WASHINGTON  United States 

Efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine were left in tatters following President Trump’s confrontational White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which erupted into one of the most remarkable Oval Office scenes in years.

Zelensky arrived at the White House on Friday with the hopes of signing a critical minerals deal with the U.S. and securing assurances from Trump as he seeks to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow. 

But negotiations ended shortly after they started, with Trump calling Zelensky “disrespectful” and saying he was “not ready for peace.”

It was the culmination of roughly a month of growing tensions between the Trump administration and Zelensky, who had frustrated White House officials with some of his rhetoric and actions.

Trump welcomed Zelensky to the Oval Office cordially enough, praising the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers and insisting he wanted to see peace. But the meeting soon devolved into shouting and finger-pointing, with the president and Vice President Vance accusing Zelensky of being ungrateful and of having little leverage.

The moment the meeting went from cordial to off the rails occurred when Vance said Trump was engaging in diplomacy and Zelensky questioned “what kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?” noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken ceasefires and killed Ukrainians. As Zelensky spoke, he leaned over and gestured toward Vance with his hands.

“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance said as Zelensky attempted to interrupt. “Mr. President, Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”

That prompted Zelensky to ask Vance, who has a long-standing history of questioning U.S. aid to Ukraine, if he had ever been to his country.

“Had you ever been to Ukraine? Did you see the problems we have?” Zelensky asked, to which Vance responded that he had seen “the stories.”

When Zelensky then tried to suggest the U.S. had not yet felt the full ramifications from the war, he set off Trump.

“You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump said. “You’re in no position to dictate that.”

“You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards,” Trump said, raising his voice. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, that has backed you.”

“Have you said thank you once in this entire meeting?” Vance said, to which Zelensky said “a lot of times.”

“You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war —” Zelensky began saying but Trump cut him off. 

“He’s not speaking loudly. … Your country’s in big trouble. You’re not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us,” Trump said.

A White House official told our reporter that after the spat, Trump and Zelensky went into separate rooms and the Ukrainians wanted the talks to continue, asking to reset.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz ultimately told them they had to leave the White House grounds, which Trump had ordered, and they suggested Zelensky return when he’s ready for peace. Trump felt disrespected by Zelensky’s demeanor and comments during the meeting, telling aides he was shrugging and rolling his eyes, the official said.

The two leaders had been scheduled to hold a joint press conference and sign a deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals supply later in the day, but it was canceled. 

A short time after reporters left the Oval Office, Zelensky’s SUV pulled up to the West Wing, an indication he was departing sooner than expected. He left shortly after.

White House officials embraced the way the day had gone. The official White House social media account posted a video of Zelensky’s SUV leaving the premises. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and Vance were “standing up for the American people.”

Rubio, who sat expressionless on and sunken into a couch in the Oval Office as the meeting devolved into chaos, posted on the social platform X that Trump was “standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before.”

The rift between Trump and Zelensky has been steadily brewing for some time.

Zelensky was caught in the middle of Trump’s first impeachment proceedings in 2019, when Democrats accused Trump of withholding lethal aid for Ukraine while he pressed Zelensky to investigate the Biden family. 

Zelensky was just elected president when Trump called him in July 2019 about information on former President Biden’s son Hunter Biden and his business dealings in Ukraine, which led to the accusations that he solicited foreign interference in the 2020 race.

While campaigning for president last year, Trump repeatedly expressed skepticism about continued U.S. support for Ukraine, which had become the foundation of the Biden administration’s foreign policy. Trump allies in Congress had increasingly moved away from backing support for Ukraine throughout the election, including Vance.

The Trump team’s frustrations with Zelensky bubbled up again in recent weeks. 

Trump accused Zelensky of being rude to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a recent trip to Kyiv. Trump officials sought to get the Ukrainian leader to sign onto a critical minerals deal on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which Zelensky declined to do.

Trump got increasingly personal in recent weeks, calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and claiming Ukraine was to blame for the start of the war. Zelensky responded to those claims by saying Trump lived in a “disinformation space” and was echoing Russian talking points.

On the day of the meeting, Trump greeted Zelensky at the White House by commenting on his clothing — the Ukrainian president has always worn a black long-sleeve shirt since his country has been at war. When asked by the press if the meeting was going to be good, Trump gave a thumbs-up before the two leaders went inside the White House.

Once they were inside the Oval, Trump remarked, “I do like your clothing,” but Zelensky later seemed frustrated when a pro-Trump reporter in the room questioned Zelensky on why he doesn’t wear a suit and said “a lot of Americans” have an issue with him not doing so.

Friday’s flare-up elicited a gleeful response from Moscow. Monday marked three years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine after amassing troops on the border and demanding a ban on Ukraine ever joining NATO. The invasion took place nearly a decade after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

“The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII,’” Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the secretary council of the Russian federation, said on X.

Most of the Republican Party defended Trump’s conduct, hailing the president as projecting strength and protecting American interests. 

“Most Americans witnessing what they saw today would not want Zelensky to be their business partner, including me, and I’ve been to Ukraine nine times since the war started,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, on Fox News. “I’ve never been more proud of Trump for showing the American people and the world, you don’t trifle with this man.”

Graham later told reporters at the White House that he spoke with Zelensky ahead of the White House meeting and warned him, “Don’t take the bait,” suggesting he predicted a tense meeting.

Friday’s blowup was the exact type of situation European leaders hoped to avoid when they visited the White House earlier in the week. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appealed to Trump this week by praising him as a negotiator, while insisting any peace deal required assurances that would prevent future Russian aggression.

The French president physically embraced Trump as they sat side by side in the Oval Office, an image that hearkened to their intense handshakes of Trump’s first term. Starmer brought with him an invitation for a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom, signed by King Charles.

But both men tried to impress upon Trump the fact that Europe had contributed plenty to aid Ukraine, as well as the importance of a lasting peace agreement.

Friday’s Oval Office breakdown may leave those same European leaders scrambling over what to do next.

“There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago—and to keep doing so,” Macron said in a statement on X following the meeting.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 01/03/2025

 

Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky meet at White House to discuss end of Ukraine war

WASHINGTON,  United States 

Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived at the White House for crucial talks with President Donald Trump over ending the war and to sign a landmark minerals deal.

Mr Zelensky shook hands with the US president who last week caused outrage when he branded the Ukrainian president a “dictator”.

During his trip to Washington, President Zelensky's delegation is expected to sign the economic agreement with the US aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come.

Although the deal, which is seen as a step toward ending the three-year war, references the importance of Ukraine's security, it leaves that to a separate agreement to be discussed between the two leaders - talks that are likely to start on Friday.

Speaking to reporters as he sat down with Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed the minerals deal with Ukraine will be signed today, and says "we have something that is a very fair deal". "It is a big commitment from the US," he added.

Mr Zelensky said he hopes "this document will be a step forward for Ukraine" and he wanted to discuss what the US is "ready to do".

As Ukrainian forces hold out against slow but steady advances by Russia's larger and better-equipped army, leaders in Kyiv have pushed to ensure a potential US-brokered peace plan would include guarantees for the country's future security.

The meeting comes after tensions between Trump and Ukraine after the US president appeared to side with Russia over its invasion and branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections ” - an allegation he has since reined back on.

Many Ukrainians fear that a hastily negotiated peace - especially one that makes too many concessions to Russian demands - would allow Moscow to rearm and consolidate its forces for a future invasion after current hostilities cease.

According to the preliminary economic agreement, seen by The Associated Press, the US and Ukraine will establish a co-owned, jointly managed investment fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues from natural resources, including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials.

A more detailed agreement on establishing the fund will be drawn up once the preliminary one is signed.

Trump commends Zelensky ahead of White House talks

WASHINGTON, United States

United States President, Donald Trump has said he has a "lot of respect" for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of their talks at the White House.

Asked by the BBC if he would apologise for recently calling him a "dictator", he said he could not believe he had said this. He also called Zelensky "very brave".

Trump was speaking after talks with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer about ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.

He predicted a "very good meeting" with Zelensky on Friday, saying efforts to achieve peace were "moving along pretty rapidly".

This week's meetings come after the Trump administration shocked its Western partners by holding the first high-level US talks with Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine just over three years ago.

America's new president had appeared to blame Zelensky for the war and chided him for not starting peace talks earlier.

"You've been there for three years," he had said last Tuesday. "You should have ended it... You should have never started it. You could have made a deal."

But this Thursday, speaking after meeting Sir Keir, Trump told reporters asking about his forthcoming talks with Zelensky: "I think we're going to have a very good meeting tomorrow morning. We're going to get along really well."

Asked by the BBC's Chris Mason if he still thought Zelensky was a "dictator", he replied: "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that."

Zelensky will be hoping to win some kind of security guarantees for his country that would underpin any peace deal that may be negotiated.

Asked about these on Thursday, Trump only said he was "open to many things" but he wanted to get Russia and Ukraine to agree a deal before deciding what measures might be put in place to enforce it.

On his visit on Friday, Zelensky is expected to sign a deal that will give the US access to Ukraine's rare earth mineral resources.

Trump suggested that the presence of US mining concerns in Ukraine would act as a deterrent against future Russian attacks on Ukraine.

"It's a backstop, you could say," he said on Thursday. "I don't think anybody's going to play around if we're there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country."

The British prime minister had said earlier that the UK was prepared to send troops to Ukraine after the war as part of a peacekeeping force but only if the US, Nato's leading member, provided a "backstop".

Asked if the US would aid British peacekeepers if they were attacked by Russia, Trump said: "The British have incredible soldiers, incredible military and they can take care of themselves. But if they need help, I'll always be with the British, okay?"

Nato's Article 5 holds that Nato members will come to the defence of an ally which comes under attack.

Praising Trump's "personal commitment to bring peace" in Ukraine, Sir Keir said the UK was "ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal".

"We're focused now on bringing an enduring end to the barbaric war in Ukraine," he said.

But, he added, it must not be a peace deal "that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran".

Asked whether Vladimir Putin was trustworthy, the UK prime minister said his views on the Russian president were well-known.

Asked in turn why he seemed to trust Putin and Sir Keir did not, Trump said: "I know a lot of people that you would say no chance that they would ever deceive you, and they are the worst people in the world.

"I know others that you would guarantee they would deceive you, and you know what, they're 100% honourable, so you never know what you're getting."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who had been due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington before he cancelled the talks "due to scheduling issues", told BBC News that Putin and Russia did "not want to have peace".

"For any peace agreement to function, it needs the Europeans as well as Ukrainians on board," she added.

Stopping off in the Irish Republic on Thursday en route to the US, Zelensky met the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin at Shannon Airport.

"We discussed the steps to end the war with guaranteed peace for Ukraine and the whole of Europe," he said later.

Following the overthrow of Ukraine's pro-Russian president in 2014, Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and backed pro-Russian separatists in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The conflict burst into all-out war when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers, have been killed or injured, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled as refugees.

As well as Crimea, Russia now occupies parts of four other regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

The Kremlin warned on Thursday that Russia would make no territorial concessions to Ukraine as part of a peace deal.

"All territories that have become subjects of the Russian Federation... are an integral part of our country, Russia," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "This is an absolutely indisputable fact and a non-negotiable fact."

Separately, Russian and US officials met in the Turkish city of Istanbul for talks on rebuilding diplomatic ties.

The two nuclear superpowers expelled one another's embassy staff when Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, was in the White House.

Israel's military publishes first report on 7 October 2023 failures

TEL AVIV, Israel

Israel's military has published its first official account of the mistakes that led to its failures during Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, which triggered the Gaza war.

About 1,200 people were killed when Hamas attacked Israeli communities, military bases and a music festival on 7 October 2023

The report concludes that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians".

The 19-page report contains much that is already known about what led to catastrophic loss of about 1,200 lives when approximately 5,000 gunmen from Hamas and other Palestinian groups stormed into Israel, also taking 251 hostages in the process.

There are no dramatic revelations, but it is still sobering to see the military's conclusions about how it misjudged Hamas's intentions and underestimated its capabilities laid out in black and white.

The report says the military regarded Gaza as a secondary security threat, with priority given to Iran and Hezbollah. Its policy towards Gaza, it says, was "paradoxical: Hamas was illegitimate, yet there was no effort to develop an alternative".

The military had chosen a "conflict management" approach to dealing with Gaza, it says. And had assumed that Hamas was "neither interested [in] nor preparing for a large-scale war" - a perception reinforced by Hamas's own deception tactics.

Evidence from 2018 onwards suggesting that Hamas - which is proscribed as a terrorist group by Israel, the US, UK and other countries - was indeed developing an ambitious plan was interpreted as "unrealistic or unfeasible", reflecting "Hamas's long-term aspirations rather than an actionable threat".

The report says that in the months leading up to the war, the Military Intelligence Directorate began to develop a new assessment, suggesting that Hamas's plan was not merely a vision but "a concrete framework for operational planning".

However, this emerging assessment was not brought to the attention of senior officials in military intelligence.

The report identifies a broad streak of complacency within the military about Hamas's intentions and how to deal with the threat it posed.

"There was no deep discussion of the question: What if we are wrong?" the report says.

Over time, "a significant and continuous gap between the intelligence assessments of Hamas and reality" had developed.

The report also highlights what it says was "a decline in deep familiarity with the enemy's different worldview, including its culture, religion, language and history".

It calls for deep reform of the intelligence directorate's culture, "fostering intellectual openness, scepticism, listening, learning, debate, and constructive disagreement".

It says the desire to protect highly valuable intelligence sources contributed to the military's failure to raise the alert level immediately before 7 October.

The Gaza Division, it says, "was effectively defeated for several hours" on 7 October, significantly impairing its ability to understand what was going on and respond effectively.

It says the Air Force responded quickly, but that "there was significant difficulty distinguishing between IDF troops, civilians and terrorists".

The report also says that in some incidents, wounded soldiers were evacuated before civilians.

The report says about 5,000 gunmen from Hamas and other Palestinian groups from Gaza attacked in three waves

After presenting the findings to commanders on Monday, the IDF's outgoing chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, said he took full responsibility for the failures.

"I embrace my responsibility. It is mine. I was the commander of the army on 7 October and I have my responsibility and I have all of your responsibility. I see that as mine too. And I see that in every command of mine that went wrong, there is also a part of me," he said in a video.

Last month, the general announced his resignation over the failures and called for a commission of inquiry to carry out a broader investigation that would help prevent another attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not acknowledged any responsibility for what happened on 7 October, has said such a state inquiry should wait until the end of the war.

His critics accuse Mr Netanyahu of being unwilling to admit any personal fault.

Israel responded to the 7 October attack by launching an air and ground campaign in Gaza, during which at least 48,365 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 28/02/2025

 

At least 11 dead and scores injured in Congo after blasts at M23 rebel leaders’ rally, rebels say

By Janvier Barhahiga, BUKAVU DR Congo 

At least 11 people were killed and scores injured Thursday when explosions in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu struck a rally held by leaders of the M23 rebel group, which took control of the city earlier this month.

Rebel leaders blamed the bombing on Congo’s government and said attackers were among those killed in the blasts, with conflicting reports among rebels and local officials about the number of attackers and victims. 

Congo’s president blamed the attack on unspecified “foreign” forces.

“The attack caused 11 deaths and verifications are underway. The author of the attack is among the victims." Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes the M23, told reporters. 

“There are 65 injured, six of whom are seriously injured and are currently being treated in the operating room.” He added.

He said that “following today’s unfortunate incident, we are obliged to react.”

Leaders of the M23 rebel group, including Nangaa, were meeting residents when the explosions occurred in the central part of Bukavu. 

Video and photos shared on social media showed a crowd fleeing the mass rally in Bukavu and bloodied bodies on the ground.

M23 accused the Congolese authorities of orchestrating the attack.

“We are accusing and condemning vigorously the criminal regime of Kinshasa, which … just implemented its plan of exterminating civilian populations.” AFC said in a statement. “This attack caused several deaths, including a few terrorists from Kinshasa and some injured. Two of them were immediately apprehended by our services.”

“This cowardly and barbaric act will not be without consequences,” it added.

DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi called the attack “a heinous terrorist act that was perpetrated by a foreign army illegally present on Congolese soil.”

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away.

Jean Samy, deputy president of the civil society Forces Vives of South Kivu, told The Associated Press that the attack was “a sabotage.”

“Until now, we do not know where these grenades came from,” he said by phone. “We have already recorded more than 13 deaths and serious injuries who will have to have their hands and legs amputated. The perpetrators of this act are still unknown.”

Nangaa was among leaders leaving the podium when two blasts rocked the scene, according to a journalist present at the rally.

Nangaa had earlier told the rally that M23 was bringing “change and development” to their city.

Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have swept through the region seizing key cities and killing some 3,000 people in the most significant escalation of conflict in over a decade.

In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city Goma and seized the second largest city, Bukavu. 

The region is rich in gold and coltan, a key mineral for the production of capacitors used in most consumer electronics such as laptops and smartphones.

Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

M23 says it’s fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one.

Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwanda’s involvement.