THE shocking White House bust up between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky has plunged global politics into a whirlwind of a week.
Ukraine and Russia’s devastating conflict has placed the US at odds with Europe – with the fears the future of the continent could hang in the balance.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s White House bust up has plunged global politics into a whirlwind of a week[/caption]
Ukraine and Russia’s devastating conflict continues to dominate on the world stage[/caption]
Trump has spent the majority of the week criticising Europe and Ukraine as he looks to find a peace deal while putting ‘America first’[/caption]
Global leaders have spent the last week frantically holding summits, having phonecalls, organising crucial press conferences and posting online about their efforts to stop the bloodshed.
Zelensky and Trump have gone from uneasy allies to sworn enemies before back to a more neutral relationship within just seven days.
And US relations with Europe have also been severely strained as Trump works to try and bring Russia back in from the cold in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
The past week in global politics could go down as one of the most bizarre, telling and history altering ever – and only the coming months will tell.
Friday, February 28 – Trump and Zelensky’s showdown
The Oval Office bust up between Donald Trump, JD Vance and Volodymyr Zelensky will go down in history.
Tensions exploded inside the White House as Trump yelled at Zelensky, accusing him of “gambling with World War Three” and calling him “ungrateful.”
The meeting – meant to finalise a critical minerals deal — descended into chaos at one point with all three men seen leaning forward, pointing fingers, and throwing their arms around in fury.
Trump didn’t hold back.
“Your people are very brave, but you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” he raged.
“If we’re out, you’ll fight it out. People are dying… you’re running low on soldiers. You don’t have the cards.”
When Zelensky pushed back, Trump snapped: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War Three!”
Vance piled on, demanding: “Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting?”
Zelensky replied: “A lot of times.”
The blow-up ended with Trump scrapping the planned press conference and ordering Zelensky out.
A White House official later claimed Zelensky’s delegation “began begging” to sign the minerals deal after being shown the door.
The Oval Office bust up between Donald Trump, JD Vance and Volodymyr Zelensky is set to go down in history[/caption]
The meeting started off on the wrong foot when Trump asked about Zelensky’s lack of a suit[/caption]
Trump fumed at the Ukrainian president and even sent him packing from the US[/caption]
The fallout sent shockwaves through Washington.
And Trump’s ultimatum – “You either make a deal or we are out” – threw US support for Ukraine into doubt, with several meetings to follow in the week ahead to attempt to repair the fallout.
Zelensky took to social media immediately after his exit, expressing his thanks to Trump, the US, and its people for supporting Ukraine.
But Trump continued to take swipes at the Ukrainian president as he posted, describing the meeting as “very meaningful,” adding that he was “determined” Zelensky “is not ready for peace if America is involved”.
Saturday, March 1 – Starmer supports Zelensky
Russia responded to the exploding tensions between Trump and Zelensky, labelling it as a political and diplomatic “failure”.
But as the world was left stunned from Friday’s White House drama, Zelensky jetted to London for talks with Sir Keir Starmer and Europe.
The Ukrainian President is captured in pictures looking visibly moved by the roaring crowds that lined the streets outside Downing Street to welcome his convoy.
Starmer also embraced him on the steps of Number 10 in obvious support for Ukraine.
As they held talks, which would have included the Oval Office showdown, Starmer comforted Zelensky in saying that he has “full backing across the United Kingdom“.
He then later announced £2.6 billion in loans to support the war-torn nation.
By the evening, Starmer was in “constructive” calls with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
He said that Ukraine’s allies were “at a turning point in the conflict”.
Sunday, March 2 – Europe rallies around Ukraine
Just 48 hours removed from Zelensky being unceremoniously booted out of the White House and he was again centre of attention as European leaders met in London.
A crucial security summit at Lancaster House was hosted by Starmer and saw dozens of nations attend to discuss US-Europe relations and the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
The meeting, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, saw a major push for a new military alliance to guarantee Ukraine’s future.
Afterwards, Starmer announced that a “coalition of the willing” would come together and devise a peace plan to end the bloody war.
The Prime Minister warned that Europe had to step up and “do the heavy lifting” – while still scrambling for America’s “strong” backing.
Unveiling his battle plan for the war-torn country, the PM told a press conference: “This is not a moment for more talk. It’s time to act. Time to step up and lead, and to unite, around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.”
Starmer welcomes Zelensky to Lancaster House 24 hours after he came to London[/caption]
Starmer and France’s President Emmanuel Macron have stepped up as Ukraine’s two closest allies this week[/caption]
He unveiled a £1.6 billion finance deal to help Ukraine buy more than 5,000 missiles and vowed to keep the weapons flowing while ramping up economic pressure on Russia.
Starmer then insisted the UK was ready to send “boots on the ground and planes in the air, alongside France and others.
Once the details are ironed out, he said he and Mr Macron will present the plan for peace to Trump, acting as a “bridge” between Washington and Kyiv.
Zelensky then finished his weekend in London by meeting King Charles.
The Ukrainian leader flew to the monarch’s Sandringham residence in Norfolk via helicopter where the pair held talks.
After the royal meeting, Zelensky then jetted back to Ukraine.
Monday, March 3 – Trump lashes out at Zelensky again
The start of the week saw Trump continue to pile pressure on Zelensky as his allegiance with Europe appeared to dwindle further away.
In a brutal Truth Social put down, Trump blasted Zelensky as a “guy who doesn’t want there to be peace”.
The Republican was responding to a quote from the Ukrainian leader in which he said an end to the conflict with Russia is still “very, very far away”.
Trump described these quotes as the “worst statement that could have been made” by Ukraine’s leadership.
His post continued: “America will not put up with it for much longer!”
Hours after the social media attack, Trump then paused all US military aid to Ukraine for the foreseeable future.
The shock freeze will continue until Zelensky’s government shows a commitment to peace negotiations, a senior Trump administration official told Fox News.
Tuesday, March 4 – Zelensky “regrets” Trump fallout
Zelensky came out and public said he is ready to work “under Donald Trump” and “regrets” his brutal Oval Office row with the President.
The Ukrainian leader did stop short of an apology, however.
Zelensky went on to share his own vision for peace that would involve bringing all parties to the table and included a ban on missiles and drones and releasing POWs.
He said in the bombshell X post that “none of us wants an endless war” and that “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”
Following the posts, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed Zelensky’s “steadfast commitment to securing peace” in a call with the Ukrainian leader, Downing Street has said.
Trump’s Vice President JD Vance sparked fury across the political spectrum after he dismissed countries offering boots-on-the-ground support to Ukraine[/caption]
It came a mere few hours after Trump’s Vice President JD Vance sparked fury across the political spectrum after he dismissed countries offering boots-on-the-ground support to Ukraine.
He told Fox News: “If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.”
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
Vance has since denied saying this, branded reaction to his remarks as “absurdly dishonest,” and insisted he was not referring to Britain.
Wednesday, March 5 – Trump reveals “olive branch” to Congress
As much of Europe woke up on Wednesday, Donald Trump’s first historic address to Congress added another twist to the chaotic week.
In a fiery 100-minute speech, Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine as he revealed he had received a letter from Zelensky and that Vladimir Putin was “ready for peace.”
The commander-in-chief said the letter spoke about negotiations taking place as soon as possible.
The important US-Ukraine minerals deal was also ready to be signed, Trump said per Zelensky’s words.
Starmer was widely praised for his support of Ukraine across the week[/caption]
A week on from Starmer flying out to Washington on the eve of his meeting with Trump and the PM was still fighting on behalf of Ukraine.
The UK led by Sir Starmer emerged as a steady hand at the helm of Ukraine peace talks across the week.
British leadership — hailed for its cool, pragmatic approach — not only reined in unruly theatrics but also united European allies behind a common vision for a lasting peace.
Critics and supporters alike were left praising the UK for stepping in decisively, turning a messy transatlantic dispute into a beacon of coordinated diplomacy.
Thursday, March 6 – Europe gathers for key defence summit
A key emergency summit was held in Brussels on Thursday with European leaders to discuss the Ukraine war.
Dozens of prime ministers and presidents attended from Ukraine’s Zelensky to France’s Macron.
Images showed how the EU’s 27 leaders all held a working lunch with Zelensky before having separate press conferences outside.
Zelensky said he discussed strengthening his country’s defence as well as negotiations for Kyiv’s EU accession in the summit.
He added in an X post: “It is very important that Ukrainians are not alone – we feel it and know it.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also briefly addressed the press, stating that today’s meeting was focused on “rearming Europe” and stepping up efforts to help defend Ukraine.
Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz was also in attendance.
Thursday also saw Trump rip into “delinquent” Nato allies for not spending enough on defence.
The Republican said the US will no longer defend members of the alliance that he feels aren’t contributing enough as he directly vowed: “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes Zelensky’s hand at Thursday’s European Union summit[/caption]
