Trump warned Zelensky that Putin could ‘destroy’ Ukraine if he wants in closed-door ‘shouting match’
President Trump chastised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an explosive, closed-door meeting at the White House on Friday, warning the leader that President Vladimir Putin would “destroy” Ukraine if he wanted to, according to a report.
The three-hour sit-down — which came a day after Trump held a call with Putin — devolved into a “shouting match,” with Trump “cursing all the time,” people familiar with the matter told The Financial Times.
Sources told the outlet that Trump also dismissed maps of the frontline in Ukraine, insisting Zelensky surrender the Donbas region to Russia.
Trump reportedly told Zelensky that Putin had told him the bloody war that ravaged Ukraine was a “special operation, not even a war.”
“If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you,” Trump told the Ukrainian leader, at one point throwing his maps of the battlefield to one side, the official told the outlet.
Trump then said he was “sick” of seeing the map of the frontlines, the official claimed.
“This red line, I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there,” Trump lambasted, according to the official.
“Zelensky was very negative,” following the terse meeting, one official told the publication.
European leaders were “not optimistic but pragmatic with planning next steps.”