The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reportedly warned his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that the Russia “will destroy your country” if you do not accept Moscow’s conditions to end the war, according to the British newspaper this Sunday Financial Times (FT).
The revelation comes after the tense meeting between the two leaders, held last Friday at the White House, where Zelensky sought to obtain new weapons systems, including Tomahawk missiles, to reinforce Ukrainian defense. The diary describes the meeting as “volatile”, marked by shouts, insults and great political tension.
According to sources cited by the Financial Times, Trump will have reacted aggressively, pushing maps of the Ukrainian battlefield and insisting that Zelensky cede the entire Donbass region to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The republican leader also repeated arguments presented by the Kremlin in a telephone call with Putin that took place the previous day.
“If he (Putin) wants, he will destroy you,” Trump said, according to a European source cited by the newspaper.
Other sources confirmed that the US president spent a good part of the meeting reprimanding Zelensky, repeating Russian positions and pressuring him to accept the peace plan proposed by Moscow.
Despite the hostile climate, Zelensky declared upon leaving the White House that both leaders “agreed to reduce tensions” with Moscow and that the conversations included topics such as battlefield positions, air defense and diplomatic prospects.
In later statements, the Ukrainian president admitted some disappointment with the direction of dialogueadding that European leaders are more pragmatic than optimistic about the future of war.