It is “crucial” for Ukraine to have US President Donald Trump’s support, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, the day after he was berated by the US leader in a heated meeting at the Oval Office.

“It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support,” Zelensky said in a series of posts on X on Saturday morning. “He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do.”

Zelensky emphasized his gratitude for the US’ backing of Ukraine in the three years since Russia invaded his country. In Friday’s fiery exchange, US Vice President JD Vance questioned whether the Ukrainian leader had been thankful enough for US support.

The Ukrainian leader stressed that, despite Friday’s clash, Ukraine and the US “remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals.”

He said that Ukraine is ready to sign the minerals agreement that he had traveled to the US to hammer out, but noted that “it’s not enough.”

“We need more than just that. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We’ve been fighting for three years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has landed in the United Kingdom Saturday, after leaving the United States following a heated meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday.

While in the UK, Zelensky is expected to attend a summit of European leaders on Sunday to discuss support for Kyiv.

Though the European leaders are likely to be much less hostile to Zelensky than their US counterpart, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a Ukrainian member of parliament, warned against too much optimism.

“If you thought the situation would somehow miraculously improve today… don’t count on it,” he wrote in a post on Telegram ahead of Zelensky’s arrival.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Washington DC’s Ukrainian community while in the United States, he announced on Telegram Saturday, telling them that “it is very important for us that Ukraine’s voice is heard.”

A video posted by Zelensky shows the Ukrainian leader talking to people in a room in Washington DC’s Ukraine House, including war veteran Andriy Smolensky, who is undergoing treatment in the US.

The Ukrainian leader thanked Smolensky, a former commander for Ukraine’s aerial reconnaissance group, for his part in defending his country, according to a readout of the meeting posted by Ukraine’s presidency.

“You are a hero. Heroic people like you inspire me. I am grateful to you for preserving our independent Ukraine. You saved our nation, people, unity - these are very important things,” Zelensky said.

The president also discussed the US’ relationship with Ukraine, the meeting readout said, including the “indifference of the American people throughout the three years of the full-scale Russian invasion.”

The leader thanked people for their support in “this difficult time,” as well as for “all your efforts for Ukraine and Ukrainians, and for your help - not only diplomatic and financial, but also political and prayerful.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to both US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday night following their shouting match in the Oval Office, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Starmer “retains his unwavering support for Ukraine and is playing his part to find a path forward to a lasting peace, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine,” the spokesperson said.

“The prime minister looks forward to hosting international leaders on Sunday, including President Zelensky,” the spokesperson continued, referring to Starmer’s upcoming summit of European leaders to discuss support for Ukraine.

The Trump-Zelensky clash occurred just one day after Starmer himself met with Trump in the White House, where he urged the American president against accepting any peace deal in Ukraine that would “reward” Russia or its allies.

As the world reels over Friday’s shouting match between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian attacks on Ukraine continue.

Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine with at least 154 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the Ukrainian Air Force said in a post on Telegram Saturday morning.

Ukraine’s emergency service announced Saturday that one person was killed and three others were injured in a Russian drone strike on the Odesa region overnight.

The strike set fire to a house, the emergency services said, as well as trucks and cars on the premises.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement Friday that it’s “clear that the free world needs a new leader,” following the shouting match between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

EU leaders also issued a joint statement Friday urging Zelensky to “be strong.”

“Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President Zelensky. We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace,” said the EU leaders – Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President António Costa and Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Meanwhile, one European diplomat told CNN they had never seen “such a barrage of accusations” levelled at the leader of an invaded nation.

A remarkable shouting match broke out in the Oval Office on Friday between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, an extraordinarily fractious display that only underscored the deeply uncertain future of American assistance to Kyiv.

Castigating Zelensky for not demonstrating enough gratitude for American support, Trump and his Vice President JD Vance raised their voices, accusing the besieged leader of standing in the way of a peace agreement with Russia as the full-scale invasion has surpassed its third year.

“You’re right now, not really in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” Trump said. “You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.”

“I’m not playing cards,” Zelensky said.

At one moment, Vance accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful” toward his American hosts.
“You’re not acting all that thankful,” Trump added.

“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance asked Zelensky.

Following the exchange, the two leaders went into separate rooms and Trump ordered the Ukrainians be told to leave, a White House official said. The Ukrainians protested and wanted to continue the talks but they were told no, a White House official said. A scheduled joint press conference was scrapped and Zelensky departed in his black SUV without signing a planned agreement on providing US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Trump posted online that his counterpart was not welcome back until he was “ready for peace.” Zelensky posted on X, “Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people.”

Ukraine’s defense ministry also reacted on Telegram: “We have our own things to do. Glory to Ukraine.”

Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reacted to a video of the exchange on X with one word: “historic.” The headline from Russia state news agency TASS said Zelensky “interrupted, argued and was rude to the press.” A headline by another Russian state media outlet, RIA Novosti, read: “Zelensky’s Hysteria in the White House Shocks the Rada,” referring to the Ukrainian parliament.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News’ Bret Baier that didn’t feel he owed US President Donald Trump an apology after their heated meeting on Friday, but added that he thought the relationship between them could be salvaged.

The Ukrainain leader acknowledged that his “spat” with Trump and Vice President JD Vance was “not good” for either side.

Zelensky also responded to comments by Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, who had called the confrontation “disrespectful” and said Zelensky either “needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with.”

Asked if he would never sign a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said, “Ukraine wants peace” which would be achieved through diplomacy and negotiations and that Ukraine had to be very strong at the negotiations table.

“What does this mean?” he said, “Just to know that our army is strong, that our partners are with us and that we have security guarantees, am I not right?”

Western leaders scrambled to back Ukraine after Friday’s acrimonious meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky deepened the already yawning fault lines between Washington and many of its key allies.

The remarkable Oval Office exchange highlights a tricky balancing act facing Western capitals since Trump’s return to office in January: maintaining steadfast support for Zelensky and Kyiv against Russian aggression, while not alienating a famously transactional president who appears increasingly sympathetic to President Valdimir Putin, tolerates little criticism and is upturning decades of transatlantic security alliances.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met Trump in the White House on Thursday in one of the trickiest visits by a British leader to Washington in decades, spoke with both the US president and Zelensky following their shouting match, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

The UK is set to host a summit of European leaders on Sunday to discuss support for Kyiv. Zelensky is expected to attend what’s likely to be a much more welcoming setting for the Ukrainian leader, with Starmer having urged Trump against accepting any peace deal in Ukraine that would “reward” Russia or its allies.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key Trump ally in Europe, also called for a summit with the US and European nations to discuss the war in Ukraine, saying that division makes the West weaker.

The sky felt like it split over Kyiv.

On a horizon where drones and airstrikes have killed nearly 50 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.

White House chefs were at work in the West Wing on Friday laying out plates of rosemary chicken, celery root puree and collard greens when the sound of raised voices began floating over from the Oval Office.

Inside, a remarkable scene was unfolding. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance had begun berating their guest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a hitherto unseen public implosion of a key global relationship.

For supporters of Ukraine, the moment was disastrous: Everything that could have gone wrong in a meeting between two headstrong leaders did, in the span of 10 minutes.

Read the full story here.

An unprecedented shouting match broke out in the Oval Office Friday as President Donald Trump rebuked his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, an extraordinary display that underscored the deep uncertainty around American assistance to Kyiv in its war against Russian invasion.

Never before has an American president verbally attacked his visitor like Trump did Zelensky, leading to an almost real-time breakdown in relations between Washington and Kyiv. Trump at one point threatened to give up on Ukraine entirely.

Afterwards, Western leaders – already caught in a tricky balancing act between supporting Kyiv and preserving ties with the famously transactional Trump – scrambled to back Ukraine.

Here’s where things stand after the tense meeting: