Zelenskyy on Historic Clash with Trump at the White House: ‘I Was Defending Ukraine’s Dignity’

In an interview with Time magazine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed how Russia has managed to infiltrate the White House, influencing figures around U.S. President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy specifically addressed the infamous visit to the White House on February 28, 2025, which became historic due to a heated and unexpected argument with Trump. He claimed that Moscow had successfully convinced high-ranking White House officials to believe Russian false narratives about the war’s causes and Kyiv’s stance on diplomatic conflict resolution. During this contentious meeting in the Oval Office, attended by Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy expressed his feeling of not being treated as an ally. Despite this, he emphasized that he was defending Ukraine’s dignity. Furthermore, Zelenskyy criticized statements from American diplomatic sources suggesting that Trump favored carrots for Russia and sticks for Ukraine, responding that if the carrot is poisoned, perhaps this is the cunning dimension of diplomacy.