The Financial Comet
  • Business
  • World News
  • Politics
  • Investing
  • Business
  • World News
  • Politics
  • Investing

The Financial Comet

World News

Zelensky bristled at his berating by Trump and Vance. After three years of war, what did they expect?

by admin March 1, 2025
March 1, 2025
Zelensky bristled at his berating by Trump and Vance. After three years of war, what did they expect?

The sky felt like it split over Kyiv.

On a horizon where drones and airstrikes have killed 47 civilians in Ukraine in the past 10 days, superlatives rained: the most consequential moment in the war since Russia’s invasion; the ugliest personality clash — between a 48-year-old comedian turned wartime leader and a septuagenarian billionaire turned US president; the most significant turning point in European history since 1989 or even 1945.

After Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky found himself berated for lack of gratitude on live television by US President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance on Friday, Ukraine seemed immediately unsure whether to be furious at his treatment – after their collective survival of three years of Russian bombardment and savagery – at the hands of wealthy American elites, or to panickedly seek remedy in Kyiv’s relationship with the ally it likely cannot endure without.

Ukrainian military channels on Telegram fumed they would rather die on their feet, than beg on their knees. Kyiv officials exuded solidarity. But the carpet under their feet was suddenly gone.

There is “nothing we can do to fix this,” a senior US official told me – adding that the fix must come from Zelensky. Trump-whisperer Sen. Lindsey Graham speculated Zelensky should fix it fast or step aside. US politicians are used to their words having an outsized impact, but Friday they rippled across the established norms of European security and made a continent, just about recovered from the horrific whiplash of the past 10 days, suddenly check their seatbelts again.

Zelensky’s task on Friday had been simple and almost complete, a draft agreement on a critical minerals deal waiting to be signed. The mood in his meeting was adequately convivial – not even derailed by his tough rhetoric on Putin. The wartime leader’s wardrobe choices – a black, long-sleeved shirt that he’s always worn – may not have been to Trump’s liking, a US official told me, but did not overturn the apple cart. It took Vance – who often attends, but rarely speaks in, Trump’s international meetings – to do that.

Misinformation is often the luxury of the privileged. The basic essentials of your life – electricity, food and water – must be in place to afford the privilege of propagating or believing untruths. When Zelensky was confronted with a vice-presidential lecture on Russian diplomacy – which since 2014 has openly advanced little but Moscow’s military goals in Ukraine, he talked back. Well, he tried to.

When Trump later told him he had “no cards,” Zelensky replied: “I am not playing cards.” Ukrainians are not playing cards but dying in a rate less than the fantastical figures Trump keeps citing, though at an adequately horrific pace of hundreds a week, that they too want peace.

This is the gruesome gulf between the parties in the Oval Office. On one side, a country where the facts of war are personal as they involve relatives and friends who are never coming home, and homes that will never be returned to. On the other, America’s right flank feeling scorned because its aid – given to defeat a decades-long adversary at no cost of American life – had not been received with enough gratitude.

“You’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing,” said Trump, as though the cost of tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives was not somehow a sign of appreciation.

Zelensky later said in an interview with Fox News he didn’t feel he owed Trump an apology, but he thought the relationship could be salvaged.

Trump and Vance have never seen war up close, but are still disgusted by it. They seem to have felt Zelensky, soaked in war’s horror for three years, needed a lecture about the peace anyone who had seen war would yearn for. Moneyed ignorance loudly lectured exhausted experience.

Where do we go from here? Zelensky has probably endured the defining moment of his presidency. He must either magically heal this rift, somehow survive without America, or else step aside and let someone else try – the last perhaps the easiest. Yet stepping down from power, as Moscow would like, could spark a crisis on the front lines, eroding political clarity, and in the legitimacy of the government in Kyiv, where parliamentary processes or flawed wartime elections would likely stumble in producing a clean successor.

There are no good choices ahead, no sure bets. Yet one thing is comforting since I came back to Kyiv. Europe’s security – after three daunting weeks of the Trump administration questioning democracy and alliances across the continent – may seem in crisis from the comfortable perspective in London, or Paris, or Munich. Somehow in Kyiv after three years, the doubts feel lighter. Waves of drones come nightly here, yet the city adapts, the people endure, the lights stay on.

This resilience makes Zelensky’s bristling at being lectured by Vance on his nation’s sacrifice and peril easier to understand. As one Ukrainian civilian summarized it last night: “Dignity is also a value. If Russia cannot destroy it, why does the US think it can?”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

previous post
Where Zelenskyy is headed following tense White House exchange with Trump, Vance
next post
As egg prices soar, US Customs and Border Protection cracks down on egg smuggling

Related Posts

Iranian singer flogged 74 times after singing about...

March 6, 2025

‘You need a bath after the bath’: World’s...

February 26, 2025

Canada’s election will be an ‘elbows up’ battle,...

March 24, 2025

Climate change is disrupting food systems across Latin...

January 28, 2025

Kim Kardashian set to testify in French burglary...

May 13, 2025

Wanted world leaders cast a wary eye at...

April 6, 2025

Three Israeli hostages freed after dispute threatened Gaza...

February 15, 2025

ECOWAS pledges to ‘keep door open’ after 3...

January 30, 2025

First photo of Pope emerges since hospitalization

March 17, 2025

Reading the tree leaves: Why a no-show by...

April 5, 2025

    Join our mailing list to get access to special deals, promotions, and insider information. Your exclusive benefits await! Enjoy personalized recommendations, first dibs on sales, and members-only content that makes you feel like a true VIP. Sign up now and start saving!


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Editors’ Picks

    • 1

      Trump re-designates Iranian-backed Houthis as terrorists: ‘Threaten[s] security of American civilians’

      January 23, 2025
    • 2

      DeepSeek hit with large-scale cyberattack, says it’s limiting registrations

      January 28, 2025
    • 3

      Bank of America CEO says financial industry will jump into crypto payments if regulators allow it

      January 23, 2025
    • 4

      FDA officially authorizes Zyn nicotine pouches for sale following health review

      January 23, 2025
    • 5

      Universal’s ‘Wicked: For Good’ creates a unique marketing challenge

      January 27, 2025
    • 6

      UnitedHealthcare taps company veteran Tim Noel as new CEO following Brian Thompson killing

      January 27, 2025
    • 7

      Lara Trump to host weekend show on Fox News

      February 7, 2025
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Disclaimer: thefinancialcomet.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2025 thefinancialcomet.com | All Rights Reserved