Russia cheered on President Donald Trump in his Oval Office showdown Volodymyr Zelensky that resulted in the Ukrainian president being kicked out of the White House and peace talks put on hold.
‘The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is ‘gambling with WWIII,” wrote Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Medvedev on X.
And Russian state media followed.
Aleksandr Kareyevsky, a TV host on the Rossiya 24 channel, said the meeting ‘looks more like a public flagellation for Zelensky’ and something that ‘no one expected from the U.S. president.’
Russian strikes continue across Ukraine. And Russian President Vladimir Putin benefits from any delay in a peace deal. Putin has long wanted to see a split between Ukraine and the United States, which has provided billions in foreign aid to the war torn country.
Friday was a weird day at the White House where two world leaders got into a shouting match – the first of its kind in public.
Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky did not agree to his peace terms. He also accused Zelensky of not being grateful.
Zelensky held his own, even showing Trump photos he brought of the devastation to his country, and arguing he had thanked the American people.
The showdown played out on TV screens across the world. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., seated to the side in the Oval Office, buried her face in her hands.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seated on a couch next to Vice President JD Vance, slouched and looked extremely uncomfortable. Vance couldn’t stop grinning.
