The Ukrainian president had a tense meeting with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance on Friday, Feb. 28, that put an abrupt end to their peace negotiations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy canceled his planned appearances in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 28, after a heated Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance stalled peace talks surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war.

A White House reporter for Reuters shared the breaking news on X on Friday afternoon, posting, “@ZelenskyyUa has canceled his public events around DC where he was set to speak and take questions.”

The cleared schedule came after Trump ended their White House negotiations prematurely and canceled a planned joint press conference with Zelenskyy, which was expected to happen after their closed-door meeting.

After Zelenskyy left the White House, Trump commented on the debacle on Truth Social, accusing the Ukrainian leader of disrespecting him — a line both Trump and Vance used earlier in the day — and claiming he is “not ready for peace if America is involved.”

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, shared a simple message of gratitude following the meeting.

“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people,” he wrote on X. “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”

Friday’s Oval Office meeting was intended to be an opportunity for Zelenskyy to meet with the Trump administration at a critical time for Ukraine’s sovereignty. The plan was to sign a natural resources agreement and make progress on negotiating a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, in February 2022.

However, the visit quickly turned into a confrontation between the two factions. Trump suggested that Zelenskyy may be responsible for triggering a third world war, and Vance accused the Ukrainian president of being “disrespectful” for talking policy in front of American journalists.

“Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems,” Vance told Zelenskyy during the tense conversation. “You should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference.”

Zelenskyy then called out the fact that Vance has never been in combat or even been to Ukraine.

“We’re trying to solve a problem,” he fired back. “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel, because you’re in no position to dictate that.”
Following the meeting, Zelenskyy spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte, the Financial Times reports.

Meanwhile, European leaders spoke out to express their support for Ukraine and its wartime leader.

“Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President Zelenskyy,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and António Costa, president of the European Council, said in a statement. “We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre went a step further, directly criticizing Trump’s “disheartening” behavior.

“That Trump accuses Zelenskyy of gambling with World War III is deeply unreasonable and a statement I distance myself from,” he added in a statement on Facebook.