Clash in the White House: the fallout?
US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky clashed over Russia's war against Ukraine on live TV at the White House on Friday. Trump and his vice president JD Vance called on Zelensky to show more willingness to make concessions in the search for a peace deal and more gratitude for US support. Zelensky stressed that it was Russia that was violating treaties. Commentators see a historic turning point.
The goal is to make Kyiv capitulate
Hotnews is annoyed by Trump's accusations against Zelensky:
“Ukraine was accused of risking a third world war. Not the country that has nuclear weapons, that frequently threatens with such a war, that attacked Ukraine and could end the slaughter whenever it chooses by simply stopping the invasion. Ukraine is being blamed for defending itself and paying for this with tens of thousands of lives. ... What Trump and JD Vance have essentially suggested is that Kyiv should shut up and swallow the terms of capitulation. Zelensky would have heard the same thing in the Kremlin.”
Freedom and decency out the window
Seznam Zprávy observes a glaring moral decline:
“Before the eyes of astonished journalists, US President Donald Trump insulted Volodymyr Zelensky, the leader of attacked Ukraine, as if he were a criminal schoolboy. Vice President JD Vance devotedly championed his master against the politician who has bravely resisted the brutal invasion of the fascist Russian empire for years. Clearly, the rules are changing - for the worse for democracy and freedom. The law no longer applies, only force. Decency is an outdated weakness. Now gangsters and power-crazed egomaniacs rule, deciding whether others live or die.”
Punishment for being too demanding
wPolityce.pl criticises Zelensky's behaviour:
“He adopted a demanding attitude, presumably to come across to the world as a heroic leader capable of standing up to Trump. And he didn't even realise that he had gone too far. He insulted not just his hosts, but all those who are selflessly helping the Ukrainians. Zelensky's statement 'Ukraine is alone' says absolutely everything about his approach. Breaking off the negotiations in such an atmosphere is extremely immature. Is this what the Ukrainians want?”
Many questions
Blogger Sergey Fursa vents his anger with Trump and Vance in a Facebook post picked up by NV:
“What were they trying to prove? That Ukraine is weak and must accept all Putin's terms? Why was this meeting held in the White House and not in the Kremlin then? ... Was the attempt to silence Zelensky and force him to acquiesce just a prelude to the demand that he accept the capitulation that Putin wants from him? Or do we simply not understand Trump's negotiating strategy? Does he even have one? Or did the brilliant negotiators from Washington realise that their strategy wasn't working and simply decide to pin the blame on Ukraine?”
Putin's victory live on TV
Russia's president must have been rubbing his hands in glee at such a spectacle, La Stampa complains:
“Putin received confirmation of the correctness of his 'special path' yesterday. Now he knows that he can calmly prepare the long-awaited Yalta [victors' conference in 1945] with the Americans, who use the same alphabet and speak the same language as he does. The world is dominated by the three or four rulers who hold all the power. There is no room for those who have acquired the brazen habit of thinking for themselves without consulting their aggressive directors of conscience. Putin watched his victory live on television.”
Not the time for America-bashing
In a Telegram post republished by Echo, Ukrainian film director Alexander Rodnyansky is horrified at how the US is being vilified in Ukraine:
“The tendency in Ukrainian politics to attach more importance to a harsh word than a real result has prevailed. Now the Ukrainians have poured so much hatred over their strategic ally, which has supported our country politically, financially and militarily, that Russia's propagandists, who for years have been accusing the US of every possible mortal sin, are green with envy. Now the war will continue, but without America. ... Let's hope for a miracle: namely that negotiations with the US leadership will be resumed.”