How the world reacted to the Trump and Zelensky blow up at the White House
Saturday, 1 March 2025
The extraordinary scenes at the White House that left huge question marks over the future of the Ukraine war have triggered the full range of reactions from leaders around the world.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump had the explosive blow up on camera on Friday (NZT Saturday).
After exiting, Zelensky expressed gratitude to the American people but did not directly address his meeting with Trump and Vance in a post on X.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people,” Zelensky wrote. “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Here’s what others have said afterwards.
French President Emmanuel Macron
“We all were right to have helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so.”
“There’s an aggressor, which is Russia, and a people attacked, which is Ukraine,” Macron told reporters in Portugal.
He added: “We must thank all those who helped and respect those who have been fighting since the beginning.”
The sentiment was shared by European leaders across the continent who echoed their loyalty to Ukraine in posts on X, prompting Zelensky to reply “thank you for your support” to each.
During the extraordinary meeting Friday in Washington, Trump chided Zelensky after Vance said Zelensky was being disrespectful for debating Trump in the Oval Office in front of the American media.
Vance was one of the administration’s most sceptical voices on Ukraine.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance asked Zelensky.
Elon Musk
“Zelensky destroyed himself in the eyes of the American people’,” Elon Musk wrote on X.
Starlink, the satellite communications network owned by Musk-led SpaceX, has been crucial to Ukraine’s defence. Musk has also been in regular contact with Putin.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Following the rapid reaction from around the world, Luxon said, “I am aware of Presidents Trump and Zelensky’s robust exchange.
“New Zealand remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine as it defends itself in a war that Russia started.
“It's mounting the defence of a proud, democratic, sovereign nation, but also the defence of international law,” Luxon said.
“The best route to peace is for Russia to cease its three-year long illegal and immoral war of aggression.
“We all want the US and Ukraine working together towards the shared objective of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” he said.
Dmitry Medvedev, and Russian media
The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said Zelensky got a “fierce scolding” in the Oval Office, adding that Russia “must stop military aid” being given to Ukraine.
Journalists for Russian state television appeared shocked by the breakdown in diplomacy between Trump and Zelensky but pleased with Trump’s comments.
The meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Vance “stopped observing the limits of decency” and will “probably go down in history,” Russian state news anchor Alexander Kareevsky said on evening broadcasts, adding nothing similar has been seen in “diplomatic history.”
A correspondent for the Russia 24 state news channel said after the meeting that “it is clear that there can be no talk of any deliveries or further weapons,” to Ukraine and Zelensky “is leaving with nothing.”
Kareevsky responded by saying Zelensky “went to buy himself a jacket after all,” referring to Trump’s comment where he asked the Ukrainian leader why he wasn’t wearing a suit.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X that “President Volodymyr Zelensky has the bravery and strength to stand up for what is right.”
“He stands up for Ukraine and the goal of a just and lasting peace. We have always been and will continue to be grateful to America for its support,” he wrote.
US Senator Lindsay Graham
“What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful and I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again,” Graham told reporters outside the West Wing.
He said Zelensky has “made it almost impossible to sell to the American people that he’s a good investment.”
Graham called the meeting a “complete, utter disaster” and said he’s “never been more proud” of Trump.
Asked whether Zelensky should step aside, Graham responded: “He either needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Other US Republicans
In a statement, Don Bacon (Nebraska), said it was “A bad day for America’s foreign policy.”
“Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom,” Bacon said.
Mike Lawler (New York), called the meeting “a missed opportunity for both the United States and Ukraine” on X and added that “Having this spill out into public view was a disaster — especially for Ukraine.”
Top Democrat on House Foreign Affairs Committee
Representative Gregory Meeks of New York also said the president was “an existential danger” following his testy exchange with Zelensky in the White House.
“He is both a petulant child that demands displays of loyalty in court, and a tyrant with sympathies for autocrats and dictators, so long as they stroke his ego or enrich him and his family,” Meeks said in a statement.
“Trump’s actions today undermined US leadership, emboldened our adversaries, humiliated both himself and his Republican Party, and insulted the generations of Americans who fought and died to build America’s standing in the world,” he said.
Ukraine’s head of the President’s Office
Andriy Yermak, who was part of the Ukrainian delegation in the US said that “security is more than just a word — without real guarantees, war will return”.
“Security is not just a word. It means life, a future without sirens, without losses, without fear for our loved ones,” Yermak, Ukraine’s head of the President’s Office, wrote on Telegram.
He added that President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to fight for those defending a just and lasting peace. Yermak also thanked those who recognise that Ukraine is more than just a point on the map.
“We are deeply grateful to the American people for their support. It brings us closer to the day when war will be just a memory,” he wrote.
Others in Ukraine
“Unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s interests and devotion to his country. This is what we saw today in the United States. Support for the President of Ukraine,” Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, Oleksii Kuleba, wrote on Telegram on Friday.
Leaders of regions across the country also took to social media to back Zelensky.
“In the fight for the fate of the country — fundamentally unshakable. Unquestioning support for Volodymyr Zelensky. Endurance to our leader. We believe in the President! We believe in Ukraine,” Serhii Lysak, head of Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, which sits about 5km from where Russian forces are currently advancing on the battlefield.