Smoke billows into the sky following Ukrainian drone strikes on warehouses of Russia's online retailer Wildberries, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, July 24, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The meeting in the Oval Office between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a diplomatic car crash.
“Your country is in big trouble. You’re not winning,” Trump said, dressing down Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media. “You don't have the cards.”
The blowup in February 2025, three years into the war, was more than just a heated public exchange: The Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave the White House, and Washington briefly suspended intelligence sharing with Kyiv. In the ensuing months, as Russia made slow but steady gains on the battlefield, Trump warmly welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and seemed ready to push Ukraine into an unfavorable peace deal, including forcing it to give up territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump shouts at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office: “You don't have the cards right now.”
