Following the heated meeting between President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Feb. 28, a slew of United States allies spoke up in support of Ukraine.
Dozens of presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, chancellors and other officials around the globe took to social media on Friday afternoon to express solidarity with Zelenskyy, whom Trump and Vance accused of being “disrespectful” toward the United States during their short-lived peace negotiations.
At one particularly tense moment during the Oval Office conversation, Trump warned that Zelenskyy was “gambling with World War III.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was one of the few leaders to directly criticize Trump’s behavior as “disheartening” while commenting on the chaotic White House visit.
“That Trump accuses Zelenskyy of gambling with World War III is deeply unreasonable and a statement I distance myself from,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook.
Others shared powerful messages of loyalty and support for Ukraine amid its ongoing efforts to end Russia’s invasion.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — no stranger to his own confrontations with Trump — wrote, “Russia illegally and unjustifiably invaded Ukraine. For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom, and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all.”
“Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace,” he added.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu echoed: “The truth is simple. Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine defends its freedom—and ours. We stand with Ukraine.”
“We stand with Ukraine more than ever,” added Czech President Petr Pavel. “Time for Europe to step up its efforts.”
“Ukraine, you’ll never walk alone,” agreed Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk shared, “Dear @ZelenskyyUa, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.” From Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you.”
One social media page has been building a full thread of the supportive messages for Ukraine.
The Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting was Zelenskyy’s first opportunity to sit down with Trump and Vance in the United States since they were sworn in on Jan. 20. The plan was that Trump and Zelenskyy would sign a natural resources agreement and make progress on negotiating a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
However, it quickly turned into a confrontation between the two factions. Vance accused the Ukrainian president of being “disrespectful” for talking policy in front of American journalists.
“Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems,” Vance told Zelenskyy during the tense conversation. “You should be thanking the president for trying to bring you into this conference.”
Trump told Zelenskyy that the United States has “backed you far more” some think it should have, similarly suggesting that the Ukrainian president was ungrateful.
Following the meeting, Zelenskyy canceled the rest of his planned appearances in Washington, D.C.
He spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte shortly after leaving the White House, the Financial Times reported.
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The Ukrainian leader later shared a message of thanks on X.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people,” he wrote. “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
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