How Trump and Zelensky’s meeting escalated into a fiery spat
We’ve mentioned last week’s Trump-Zelensky meeting in Washington a few times already, so let’s have a look back at how it unfolded.
The visit was supposed to be about ending the war in Ukraine, with the signing of a US minerals deal also on the cards. What happened instead, was a very public clash in the Oval Office that saw Zelensky leave the White House early, after the cordial visit took a quick turn:
Trump then threatened: “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out”
In pictures: Russian strike on Kharkiv leaves buildings smoking
We can now bring to you some images from that Russian strike in Kharkiv that we reported on a bit earlier.
The drone attack, which hit an apartment complex in the north-eastern Ukrainian city, left three houses damaged and around 150 windows shattered.
An 80-year-old man and a seven-year-old boy were among the eight people injured, the city’s mayor says.
What’s included in Starmer’s four-point plan for Ukraine?
Following the summit in London on Sunday, Starmer announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine on ending the war and defending it from further Russian aggression.
In case you missed that evening address, here’s a quick look at what’s included in the plan:
Elsewhere on Sunday night, Starmer’s French counterpart told Le Figaro newspaper that Paris and London want to propose a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure” – we’ll have more on that in our next post.
Russian drone attack on Kharkiv injures eight people
As we continue to cover global leaders’ attempts to secure peace in Ukraine, let’s bring you the latest from the conflict.
A Russian drone attack has injured eight people – including a seven-year-old child – in Ukraine’s second largest city, its mayor says.
Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, says the drone struck a multi-storey apartment building late on Sunday night. It left three houses damaged and around 150 windows shattered.
An 80-year-old man and a seven-year-old boy were among the injured, Terekhov says.
In total, the Ukrainian military says it shot down 46 of the 83 drones Russia launched overnight. Another 31 drones were “lost” and did not reach their targets.
In a stuffy room in Stansted, Zelensky didn’t seem interested in making nice
Having been slammed in the White House, then feted in the UK, President Zelensky’s mood, in public at least, was not downhearted.
“If we don’t keep our spirits up, we’re letting everyone down,” he told the media last night before leaving the UK.
He made positive noises about Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s plan to grab hold of the plans for peace before presenting them to the US, for Europe to up its game, developing its own more convincing security guarantees.
Zelensky told me he would be prepared to give Donald Trump one of his demands – to sign the minerals deal that would give the US access to some of Ukraine’s resources.
Beyond that, despite all the pressure of a three-year full-scale war, under all the demands from the White House which, fairly or not, has the power to protect or abandon his country, on Sunday night Zelensky stood firm.
He told us it was wrong at this stage to discuss giving up territory Russia has captured, and it was too early to be “talking about lines”, which Starmer had mentioned earlier.
He would not apologise to Trump or express regret for anything that happened in the Oval Office, which at the moment, the US president’s camp is repeatedly calling for.
Even the boss of Nato called for Zelensky to find a way to reset his relationship with the US leader.
Yet in the stuffy room at Stansted, there was not much in Zelensky’s tone that suggested he was interested in making nice.
He said he had travelled for hours to get to the White House – his visit was a mark of respect. He also said he would never “insult anybody” and the conversation as it erupted had not been a positive for anyone.
Zelensky chose his words very carefully. He tried to an extent to avoid a post-mortem of what went on. He was not rude about Trump – he barely mentioned him by name – and suggested tensions would pass.
If you watched the full horror of what happened in the Oval Office you may well not blame Zelensky for feeling it’s simply not for him to say sorry.
Trump tells followers to ‘worry less about Putin’
US President Donald Trump – not in attendance at this weekend’s European summit – has taken to his Truth Social platform to warn that less time should be spent “worrying about Putin”.
More time, he writes in the early hours on his social media platform, should be spent “worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country”.
He adds that this would ensure “that we don’t end up like Europe“.
A reminder: The Ukraine talks in London on Sunday, which were largely attended by European leaders, were organised before the heated confrontation unfolded between Zelensky and Trump on Friday.
Zelensky underscores Ukraine’s appreciation for US support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has taken the opportunity to express his “gratitude” for US support.
“We understand the importance of America, and we are grateful for all the support we’ve received from the United States,” Zelensky writes on X, not long after leaving the UK.
This comes days after the heated exchange between Zelensky and the US president in the Oval Office, where Trump and his vice-president told Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support.
Zelensky adds in his post that there has “not been a day” that Ukraine hasn’t felt thankful, describing this as “gratitude for the preservation of our independence”.
He also notes that help from its international partners is “for their own security” too, and that “security guarantees are the key” to lasting peace.
Zelensky praises European ‘unity’ after weekend of talks
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the latest in the Ukraine-Russia war.
You join us this morning after a busy weekend that saw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky join UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a summit of European leaders, his plane touching down just hours after his dramatic visit to Washington DC.
But the fiery clash in the Oval Office – with Zelensky on one side and US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance on the other – only partially dominated the news cycle over the weekend.
On Sunday, Starmer as well as other global leaders – mostly European – announced their plans for ending the war in Ukraine.
In case you missed it, here’s a quick look back at what happened over the weekend:
Stick with us as we continue to bring you the latest.
