Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump are all set to meet at the White House on Monday. This meeting comes months after the first one resulted in a very public clash in which Zelensky was at the receiving end of barbs by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump’s latest meeting with Zelensky comes after the US president held a summit with Vladimir Putin regarding a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. While that summit ended with “no deal” as yet, Trump is hopeful a deal will be made with the Ukrainian leader now.
Back in February 2025, Trump and Zelensky were caught in a spat at the Oval Office, which was broadcast to the world. During this spat, the US president and vice president berated the Ukrainian leader and accused him of “gambling with World War 3.”
What happened in the Oval Office in February?
In February 2025, Ukrainian President Zelensky met with Trump during his visit to Washington DC. During this visit, Ukraine and the US, which has been its staunch ally in the war, were set to discuss continued support from the US and a rare minerals agreement.
This meeting, however, went south as Zelensky was confronted by Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Ahead of this meeting, tensions had already been brewing between the Zelensky government and the Trump administration.
Donald Trump was already cosying up to Russia by initiating peace talks with Ukraine on the sidelines. Furthermore, the US president had openly referred to Zelensky as a “dictator” as he blamed Kyiv for the 2022 invasion by Russia.
During the Oval Office meeting, Zelensky was accused of not showing enough gratitude to the US for its support. As Trump and Vance continued to verbally attack their visitor, the US leaders also accused Zelensky of standing in the way of a peace deal with Russia.
After more back-and-forth between the two, Trump said – “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III.”
Following this verbal spat, Zelensky was forced to cut his visit to the US short and was reportedly asked to leave the White House, with Trump saying “he can come back when is ready for peace”.
After accusations of not being thankful enough, Zelensky was met with words of support from European leaders and Ukrainian allies, which prompted the president to carry out a “thank you” spree on X.
The next meet between the two leaders took place in April 2025 at Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican, and then again in June on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in the Netherlands.
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Trump-Zelensky 2.0
Six months later, Zelensky is all set for his return to the White House and this time, he’s bringing reinforcements.
European leaders – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte – will also be present at the White House ahead of this key meeting.
European leaders are expected to arrive at the White House, following which, Trump and Zelenskyy will meet.
After this meet-and-greet, Zelensky and Trump will proceed to the Oval Office for talks, likely accompanied by Vice President JD Vance.
Following this, Trump is set to meet with European leaders, which will include the Ukrainian president.
Ukrainian President,Volodymyr Zelensky,US President,Donald Trump,White House meeting,Ukraine war
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