A disaster in the White House for Volodymyr Zelensky—and for Ukraine
J.D. Vance set a trap for the Ukrainian president, who declined to flatter Donald Trump
WHEN VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY arrived at the White House on February 28th the America-Ukrainian relationship was fragile and uncertain. By the time the Ukrainian president left, it was shattered. After a full-blown shouting match in front of the television cameras—with Donald Trump and his vice-president, J.D. Vance, furiously accusing the Ukrainian leader of being ungrateful and of risking a third world war—Mr Zelensky will return home more embattled than ever. Hopes for a peace deal seem more distant than ever.
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