During a heated exchange in the Oval Office on Friday, President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he was “gambling with World War III.” He then canceled a press conference and said the wartime leader was “not ready for peace” with Russia.
After a friendly first 45 minutes, Zelensky seemed to patronize Vice President JD Vance, which caused the high-stakes visit to go awry. Originally,
the visit was supposed to include the signing of a framework agreement that would give the US a stake in Ukraine’s rare-earth elements.
After Zelensky began the visit by showing Trump pictures of Ukrainian civilians both before and after they were taken hostage by Russian forces, and by giving him the heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk’s belt, the spark seemed to appear out of nowhere. Read more below
