News Flash
DHAKA, March 1, 2025 (BSS) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today said despite the White House debacle he needs US support amid fresh reports suggesting that after being scolded by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, he was bereted as well by US national security adviser Mike Waltz, who eventually showed him the door.
“It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support . . . He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do,” the Ukrainian leader said in a series of posts on X on Saturday.
He also expressed his gratitude for the US’ backing of Ukraine since Russia invaded his country, as Trump and Vance accused him of not being thankful to the United States for billions of dollars it spent to stand by Ukraine in its war with Russia during the past three years.
“We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people,” Zelensky wrote adding that Kyiv was still ready to sign the minerals agreement he had travelled to the US to hammer out before the diplomatic breakdown.
The Ukraine’s President is now in the UK leaving the United States after Friday’s fiery exchange but new reports suggested he was not exposed to humiliation not only by the US president and vice president in front of global media as Waltz too used harsh words during the episode and asked him to leave the Oval Office.
The national security adviser offered a first-person account of the moment he told what he described as a “still argumentative” Zelensky it was time for him to leave the White House.
According to Waltz as the pressmen left the room the US and Ukrainian sides retreated to separate rooms when he along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other top officials asked him to leave.
He told the Fox news that they then “advised the (Ukrainian) president — pretty much unanimously advised the president — that after that insult in the Oval Office, we just do not see how that can move forward, that any further engagement would only go backwards from this moment on”.
According to CNN Waltz was then dispatched to deliver the message that Zelensky was no longer welcome.
Waltz said he told Zelensky, “Time is not on your side here. Time is not on your side on the battlefield. Time is not on your side in terms of the world situation, and most importantly, US aid and the taxpayers’ tolerance is not unlimited.”
After the Oval Office humiliation or heated exchange of words, Zelensky, however, widely received European backing as Western leaders scrambled to support Ukraine after the exchange deepened the fault lines between Washington and many of its traditional allies in Europe.
The leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands were among those who posted social media messages backing Ukraine - with Zelensky responding directly to each one to thank them for their support.
The Ukrainian president has arrived in London to attend a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who too "retains unwavering support for Ukraine", Downing Street said.
The British premier’s office said Starmer and Zelensky will meet in Downing Street today while BCC commented that the “meeting was already shaping up to be a critical one, but it has now taken on a heightened importance”.
The US stance on Ukraine visibly exposed the western military alliance NATO while its chief Mark Rutte said he told Zelensky he must "find a way" to restore his relationship with his US counterpart.
"You have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration," Rutte recalled as telling the Ukrainian president.
Germany's foreign minister said Saturday the "unspeakable" row between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart in the White House resembled a "bad dream", as Kyiv's European allies rallied to its side.
"Yesterday evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a televised statement.
