Trump says he’s hopeful for Ukraine peace deal and UK trade deal after Starmer talks – BBC.com
For technical reasons, we’re moving our live coverage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s dramatic visit to the White House to a new page – click this link to stay with us.This video can not be playedWatch: From laughter to anger, how the meeting spiralledEdited by Brandon Livesay, with Myroslava Petsa and Bernd Debusmann Jr reporting from the White HouseBrandon LivesayReporting from New YorkFor technical reasons, we’re moving our live coverage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s dramatic visit to the White House to a new page – so click this link to stay with us.There are plenty of updates and analysis on the way. See you over there.Myroslava PetsaBBC News Ukrainian, in WashingtonThe Ukrainian delegation here in Washington has gone quiet. A planned appearance by President Zelensky at a think tank earlier this evening was cancelled at the last minute – after the buffet had already been served. Ukrainian officials are still trying to process what happened today. But there’s no doubt in government circles that this trip has gone terribly wrong. A day that was meant to bring about a new chapter in US-Ukraine relations has ended with the two sides in uncharted territory.US support has proven critical for Ukraine’s survival – President Zelensky said as much on Fox News this evening. He heads to London on Saturday to meet UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, an important ally.But Kyiv will be thinking hard about how to salvage damaged relations with their most important partner – the United States.This video can not be playedA photo of Ukraine’s ambassador with her head in her hands during the heated exchange in the Oval Office has gone viral with nearly two million views on X.Oksana Markarova was in the Oval Office sitting near the leaders and cameras caught her reaction to the spat.Democrats are unified in their party’s support of UkraineAnd now we bring you some more reactions from Democrats in Congress who seem to be aligned in how they view the Oval Office meeting – that Trump and Vance attacked Zelensky to help or to impress Putin. Here are some notable comments from top Democratic lawmakers:Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrats’ leader in the chamber, on X: “Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work.
Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for freedom and democracy.”Representative Hakeem Jefffies, the highest-ranking Democrat in the House: “Today’s White House meeting with the President of Ukraine was appalling and will only serve to further embolden Vladimir Putin, a brutal dictator. The United States must not reward Russian aggression and continue to appease Putin.”Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the most senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, to a reporter: “It’s distressing to see the President… is walking away from our commitment in Ukraine, and doesn’t seem to understand what a murderous dictator Vladimir Putin is.” Representative Gregory Meeks, the most senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “Trump’s actions today undermined U.S. leadership, emboldened our adversaries, humiliated both himself and his Republican Party, and insulted the generations of Americans who fought and died to build America’s standing in the world. It is not President Zelensky who disrespected the United States in the Oval Office. It was Donald Trump.” Senator Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran: “Attacking our democratic partner in service of an autocratic dictator.
Trump is a national disgrace.”Representative Ted Lieu, a long-serving member of the House who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee: “Nobody is celebrating President Trump and Vice President Vance’s embarrassing behavior in the Oval Office more than Vladimir Putin. Today was a distressing moment for those of us who value democracy and America’s role as a force for good.”Senator Chris Murphy, a more liberal Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has emerged as one of Trump’s fiercest critics, on X: “What just happened in the Oval Office was a planned ambush, designed to help a brutal Russian dictator and hurt America’s security.
Trump has become Putin’s lapdog, and America’s global power is hemorrhaging as America sides with dictators over democracy. What an embarrassment.”Mike WendlingUS digital reporterBrian Glenn, pictured with girlfriend Marjorie Taylor Greene, asked about the Ukrainian leader’s wardrobeJust before the heated exchange in the Oval Office, Zelensky faced questioning and comments over his choice to wear combat gear from a conservative journalist. The wardrobe question presaged the argument about thankfulness and respect. “Why don’t
you wear a suit? Do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have a problem with you
not respecting the dignity of the office,” the reporter asked.Zelensky has made a habit of wearing sweatshirts, usually
adorned with the Ukrainian trident symbol, even when at important meetings with
world leaders. He seemed unperturbed by the question. “I will wear (a) costume after this war will finish,”
he told the reporter. “Maybe something like yours, maybe something better…
Maybe something cheaper.” The question was posed by Brian Glenn, the Chief White House
Correspondent for Real America’s Voice, a right-wing network with a show line-up
chock-full of Trump allies. It’s unclear how salty the Ukrainian president meant to be in
his answer – the word “suit” can be translated into Ukrainian as “kostyum” – and
the news conference swiftly moved on. But the issue of due respect was at the centre of the full-fledged
argument that burst out in the Oval Office just minutes later.Democrat Madeleine Dean on a visit to Kyiv in April 2024We will continue to bring you more reactions from Ukraine and other parts of the world on today’s White House spat, but for now let’s stay in Washington DC where Trump’s Democratic opponents have blasted his approach.Madeleine Dean, a US House representative from Pennsylvania, is calling on Trump and Vance to
apologise for their “disgraceful behaviour”, describing it as “so un-American.”Dean tells BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight: “They acted like two 7th grade
bullies” and accused JD Vance of having “egged on” the argument,
with President Trump going forward with it “in grotesque ways, so much of it
not based in the truth”.“What I have heard from Mr Zelensky, from everyone who works with him, from
the generals on the ground and the ordinary foot soldier is thank you, thank
you, thank you, thank you, we depend upon you,” says Dean, who visited Ukraine last year.Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it a “shameful display”.“It would’ve been a show of strength for the President of the United States to bring the elected leader of Ukraine to the Oval Office and engage with him in a dignified way,” Pelosi posted on X. “But you would never know that after President Trump’s shameful display. Putin must be overjoyed with today’s theatrics.”Looking for more analysis on the tensions in the White House today? BBC Newscast is dissecting Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s extraordinary clash in the Oval Office. You can listen on BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts. We are getting some reactions from Ukraine to the extraordinary exchange between Trump and Zelensky today.Speaking to the BBC’s World Tonight, an MP for an opposition party in Ukraine defended Zelensky, saying he was being “attacked” by Trump and Vance at the White House today.MP Inna Sovsun told Radio 4 that Zelensky “couldn’t have predicted that level of aggression”. “I do believe the President was speaking on behalf of all Ukrainian people,” she said. “I think that it’s unacceptable, what he faced there,” she added. President Zelensky’s interview on Fox News – his first since the fiery spat in the White House earlier today – has just concluded.At the end of the interview, Bret Baier asks Zelensky if the relationship between him and Trump could be salvaged.”Yes of course,” Zelensky replies. “Because the relations are more than just two presidents.”He notes it is also about “historical relations” between the two countries, as well as “strong relations between our two people.””That is why I began to thank your people from our people,” Zelensky says. “Your people helped to save our people.” The interview ends with Zelensky saying: “We are thankful, and sorry for this,” adding that Ukraine only wants to have strong relations with the US. Baier asks Zelensky if he thinks Trump is growing too close to Putin. Zelensky says Trump told him today that he wants to be in the middle with both sides at the negotiating table. But Ukraine wants Trump to be “more on our side” than in the middle of negotiations. “Russia brought this war to our country, and they are not right,” he says. “They didn’t respect our territorial integrity.”Zelensky says he does not know whether the confrontation with Trump and Vance was a planned ambush, as some Democrats have suggested. “It was just a really tough situation,” he says.”I want to be very polite,” he insists, but says that some politicians have
given inaccurate information on deaths in Ukraine and the state of his country. And when those kinds of things were brought up today, “it was not good.”Bret Baier asks Zelensky if Ukraine could hold off Russia without continued US support. “It would be difficult for us. That is why I am here,” he responds.But he adds that Ukraine cannot lose its freedom.”Russians came to our territory, to our houses … they killed so many people,” Zelensky says. “Just to forget it, just to say Putin is a great guy, no.” Zelensky says he is open for diplomacy with Russia when there are security guarantees for Ukraine’s future from the US.”We’ll be ready,” he says. On Fox News, Bret Baier shows Zelensky a clip of Trump speaking to reporters hours after the meeting, telling them that Zelensky just wants to “fight, fight, fight”. Zelensky says he disagrees. Ukrainians are “ready for peace”, he says, adding that’s why he came to the White House for the visit, but he adds that the country needs “security guarantees”. “I can’t just say stop,” he says. “We want just and lasting peace.”Zelensky is asked whether today’s events were good for his
country, and he replies by saying: “This is so sensitive.” “Just a ceasefire without security guarantees, this is
sensitive for our people,” he continues, and says that he and other Ukrainians
“just want to hear that America is on our side and will stay with us and not
with Russia”.The Ukrainian president says he’ll continue to give his point
of view. “This kind of spat is not good for both sides,” he says. “I
am very open, but I can’t change our Ukranian attitude towards Russia. They are
killers.”President Zelensky tells Fox News that Ukrainians and Americans “have to be on the same side” against Russia. “I hope that the president is on our side together with us,” he says, adding it is “very important to stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”.Zelensky asserts that Putin has broken ceasefire agreements with Ukraine numerous times,.Asked if he owes Donald Trump an apology after what unfolded today in the Oval Office, Zelensky does not directly answer the question.”I respect the president and I respect American people,” he says.But he adds: “I think we have to be very open and very honest, and I am not sure that we did something bad.”After abruptly leaving the White House following a tense confrontation with President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now being interviewed by Bret Baier on Fox News.. Baier starts by asking him if he owes Trump an apology for the testy exchange today, and Zelensky says he is very thankful for Americans’ support, for the president’s and lawmakers’ support. Zelensky says that nobody wants to finish the war more than Ukrainians. We just heard from US President Donald Trump as he left the White House. And now we are expecting to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Zelensky is set to be interviewed on US network Fox News at 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT).We are listening in and will share the top lines from that interview as it happens.Writing on X, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that “Russia illegally and unjustifiably invaded Ukraine”.He adds: “Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace.” Zelensky has replied to the tweet with: “thank you for your support”.Foreign Minister Melanie Joly adds that she has been in touch with her Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, and has reaffirmed “Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine”.Since Trump’s return to the White House, Canada’s relationship with Washington has been strained. Trump is threatening to slap 25% tariffs on imports from both Canada and Mexico next Tuesday in response to what he calls an “unacceptable” level of drugs coming into the US. The US president backed down on a previous threat to impose the tariffs earlier this month.Meanwhile, Trump’s administration have made repeated remarks about annexing the US’ northern neighbour, with the president referring to the Canada’s prime minister as “Governor Trudeau” and Canada as the “51st state” on multiple occasions.Canada has the world’s second-largest Ukrainian diaspora, following only Russia.Vitaliy ShevchenkoRussia editor, BBC MonitoringNow for the latest on the ground in Ukraine, with explosions reported in the country’s second-largest city,
Kharkiv.Mayor Ihor Terekhov says residential areas in the city centre have
been targeted, and a hospital is on fire. Regional administration head Oleh Synehubov adds that Russian
drones are targeting central parts of the city.Both say the number of casualties is being clarified.Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
