Muhamad Yehia
European officials continue to express their solidarity with Ukraine after a highly tense meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the White House escalated into a shouting match.
The last day of February 2025 will be remembered, very likely for decades to come following Friday’s debacle in the Oval Office, as US President Donald Trump and VP JD Vance, berated Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a highly anticipated meeting.
What started out as a calm meeting later escalated, with Vance accusing Zelenskyy of being ungrateful and disrespectful to the United States, as Zelenskyy urged the US to continue standing by his country which has been fighting the Russian invasion for more than three-years.
Chaos erupted after the Ukrainian leader, responding to Vance, warned Washington that their growing support for Russia and abandonment of Ukraine will also affect them, despite the ocean that separates them from Europe.
Trump then quickly interjected, shouting at Zelenskyy telling him, “You don’t have the cards,” to dictate what can or can’t affect the US, before taunting him, arguing that without US support Ukraine would’ve been occupied in two weeks.
He also called the president ungrateful before cutting the meeting short, and reportedly instructing his officials to ask Zelenskyy to leave the White House.
In the hours that followed the dramatic incident, European leaders were quick to hurry to Ukraine’s support, expressing their solidarity and assuring a shaken Zelenskyy of continued European support for Kyiv.
The flurry of support has continued into Saturday, as more European officials continue to reaffirm their support for the eastern European country, as the world continues to process the spectacle that unfolded.
German Foreign Minister Analena Baerbock said that a “new era of nefariousness” had begun in the wake of Trump’s treatment of Zelenskyy in front of world media at the Oval Office. She also vowed that the incident will only increase German commitment to Kyiv.
“Many of you will have slept fitfully tonight in the face of the unspeakable videos from the White House. Frankly, so did I,” she said.
Baerbock underlined that the new Trump administration has cast a shadow and poses a threat on the rules-based international system, indicating an urgency to defend the order in place and uphold the strength of the law against the “might of the strongest.”
“Otherwise no free country can sleep peacefully with a stronger neighbour. All of this has been apparent for some time and that is why we have been working for some time on new, strengthened alliances with all those in the world who are prepared to continue to stand up for a rules-based international order and the strength of the law, rather than the right of the strongest.”
Her message echoed that of EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas, who said that Europeans must step up to challenge the US to lead the free world, as it had become apparent that change was needed.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda, who expressed support for Ukraine on Saturday, later commented that he had “no doubt that the US will remain the leader in the international arena.”
Nausėda added that Europe needs to do more to keep the US’ attention not only on Ukraine, but also on the EU and NATO. He also noted that Brussels should use the upcoming NATO summit to “strength the alliance’s deterrence” capabilities.
Nausėda has not yet spoken to Zelenskyy after the White House debacle but insisted that the incident highlights the importance of maintaining dialogue and negotiations, adding that a potential peace agreement is of mutual benefit to both, Ukraine and the US.
Poland’s Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Trump is still a reliable ally of Warsaw’s at a press conference in Krakow, even after Friday’s events.
He emphasised that Poland will continue to cooperate with any US administration, but made clear his country’s continued support for Ukraine.
The Polish defence chief says that a return to the peace talks is in both Ukraine and Poland’s interests. He also noted that Poland can leverage its good relations with the Washington to help Kyiv return to these talks.
Romania’s interim President Ilie Bolojan met his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu in the capital Chisinau where he reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, stressing that no decision on the future of the country can be taken without Kyiv’s participation.
The two heads of states pleaded for a “lasting peace, with security guarantees, so that Russia does not have the respite to rearm and start a new war.”
Bolojan also expressed his support for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s idea of setting up a summit between the United Staes, Europe and allies to discuss Ukraine and other international security challenges.