"Putin will destroy you" Scandal in the White House - Trump and Selensky are said to have shouted at each other
Hopes of new US support for Ukraine were abruptly dashed: during Friday's meeting at the White House, Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelenskyi came to blows - with a loud argument, threats and diplomatic consequences.
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- According to the media, the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelensky in the White House escalated into a heated argument in which Trump put the Ukrainian president under massive pressure.
- Selensky traveled in the hope of receiving US arms aid, but came away empty-handed, while Trump apparently supported Putin's demands for Ukrainian territorial cessions.
- Following a phone call with Putin, Trump is now planning talks about the war in Ukraine without Kiev's involvement - a move that has sparked international outrage and concerns about US reliability.
A diplomatic disaster with global implications: the most recent meeting on Friday between Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House did not end in an agreement - but in a downright scandal. As reported by the "Financial Times" and other media, the conversation escalated into a loud exchange of blows that left observers stunned.
Insiders speak of a shouting match: Trump cursed angrily, threw cards off the table and put pressure on Selensky with drastic words. "If Putin wants, he will destroy you", he is said to have hurled at the Ukrainian head of state - a statement that many people have heard as a barely veiled threat.
There is also talk of specific demands: Trump is said to have urged Zelenskyi to cede Donbass and renounce key Ukrainian positions - all in the name of a "peace plan" that apparently bears Putin's signature.
Hopes of arms aid dashed
Officially, the meeting was supposed to be about a new American peace initiative. But Selensky came with the hope of military support, in particular Tomahawk cruise missiles - and left empty-handed. Diplomats told Bild that the atmosphere at the talks was "disastrous" and Zelenskyi's mood was described as "very negative".
However, the real bombshell came the day before: Vladimir Putin spoke to Trump on the phone for an unusually long time - and persuaded him to arrange a meeting in Budapest. The aim: to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine - without the participation of Ukraine itself.
International outrage - Selensky isolated?
A step that is geopolitically explosive: Putin and Trump are planning talks on the future of Ukraine - without the Ukrainian president. For many, this is a clear sign of whose side Trump is on.
The reactions from diplomatic circles are not long in coming: many speak of a slap in the face for Ukraine, others of a dangerous solo effort by Trump that strengthens Putin's position - and shakes confidence in the USA as a reliable partner.
