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LAST UPDATE | 28 Feb
WORLD LEADERS ARE reacting to a messy White House meeting in which a shouting match broke out between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Tánaiste Simon Harris has said tonight that he has spoken to Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister to assure him of “the support and solidarity of the people of Ireland”.
The heated Oval Office exchange has left a peace deal on the Ukraine-Russia war hanging in the balance.
Some politicians have expressed support for Zelenskyy, saying he held his own in a difficult situation, while others on the side of Russia have said the verbal attack from the US president was deserved.
Zelenskyy has posted on social tonight to thank each world leader, including the Tánaiste, who voiced support of him following the meeting.
He had been criticised today by Trump and berated by US vice president JD Vance for not being “thankful” for America’s involvement in the war.
In the hours afterwards, the Ukrainian leader posted to say offer thanks to the US and to Trump.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 28, 2025
Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.
In a short statement tonight, Harris said he has spoken to Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign affairs minster, to express support again to the embattled nation.
Just spoke with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister @andrii_sybiha, who is currently in Washington DC with his President @ZelenskyyUa. I assured him of the support and solidarity of the people of Ireland. Slava Ukraini
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) February 28, 2025
International reaction
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has spoken to Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky following the heated meeting between the presidents in the White House earlier, according to a statement by a No 10 Downing Street spokesperson.
“He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine,” Starmer’s spokesperson said.
Starmer is set to host Zelenskyy for a gathering of international leaders on Sunday.
Likely future German chancellor Friedrich Merz assured his support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the spat with his US counterpart.
“We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war,” Merz, whose party recently came top in Germany’s elections, said on X.
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced support for Kyiv in a statement.
Germany’s current foreign minister in Scholz’s outgoing government said Berlin and Europe were “united” behind Ukraine after the row.
“Germany together with our European allies stands united alongside #Ukraine – and against the Russian aggression,” Annalena Baerbock wrote on X and Bluesky, adding that Kyiv’s “quest for peace & security is ours”.
French President Emmanuel Macron says if that if there was “an aggressor” in the Ukraine war, it was Russia.
“There is an aggressor which is Russia. There is an aggressed people which is Ukraine,” Macron told journalists during a state visit to Portugal.
“I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to continue to do so. And when I saw we, I mean the United States of America, Europeans, Canadians, Japanese and many others,” he added.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also confirmed that his country will stand by Ukraine.
Ucrania, España está contigo.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 28, 2025
Ukraine, Spain stands with you.
Україно, Іспанія з тобою. 🇺🇦 🇪🇸
Following the meeting, Trump issued a statement claiming that “Zelenskyy is not ready for peace” and he “can come back when he is ready for peace”.
In the statement, Trump accused Zelenskyy of having “disrespected” the US in the “cherished Oval Office” due to the row.
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure,” Trump said in the statement.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has said peace with Russia without any security guarantees “is not possible”, following the spat.
President @ZelenskyyUa is right. Peace without guarantees is not possible. Cease-fire without guarantees is the way to russian occupation of the all European continent.#підтримуюПрезидента
— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) February 28, 2025
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Trump showed “restraint” by not hitting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today.
“I think Zelensky’s biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support,” she wrote on Telegram.
“How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint,” she said.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, called Zelensky an “insolent pig” who had received “a proper slap down in the Oval Office”.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, called the heated confrontation between Trump and Zelensky “historic”.
Dmitriev was one of Moscow’s negotiators in the Russian-American talks held on 18 February in Saudi Arabia – the first since Russia began its Ukraine offensive in 2022.
With reporting by Eoghan Dalton and AFP
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