The extraordinary public clash between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States at the White House on Friday marks a diplomatic nadir in the history of Europe’s worst conflict since the second World War.
A meeting that was supposed to ease transatlantic tensions over Ukraine through the signing of a bilateral deal on mineral extraction instead descended into a shouting match between these nominal allies. US vice president JD Vance accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy of not thanking the US for its support and of backing Trump’s Democratic opponents in last year’s election. Donald Trump expressed frustration with Kyiv’s reluctance to consider a ceasefire with Russia without first agreeing security guarantees with Washington.
As the spectacle played out in front of the television cameras, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US put her head in her hands. When the meeting ended, Trump reportedly asked Zelenskiy to leave.
It could hardly have gone any worse.
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And yet the Oval Office meltdown only confirms what had already become clear: that under Trump’s leadership, Washington’s public position on Ukraine has more or less aligned with that of Vladimir Putin. A deep fissure has opened up between the US and its European allies, who even before Friday’s disaster were scrambling furiously to contain the damage incurred by the fraying of the transatlantic partnership.
Meanwhile, the fate of millions of Ukrainians - and the future of Ukraine as an independent state - hangs in the balance.
The crisis diplomacy will continue today, when Zelenskiy will join fellow European leaders in London for talks hosted by UK prime minister Keir Starmer. They are racing to formulate a common response to what many see as the end of the American security guarantee that has been in place since the end of the second World War.
Real negotiations on a cessation of hostilities still seem some way off, with scant information about who might be involved if and when those talks finally begin.
Meanwhile, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s Kursk region grinds remorselessly on, claiming ever more lives. Russia continues its aerial assault on civilian targets, with waves of drone and missile attacks on cities claiming more casualties and strikes on energy infrastructure continuing to deprive thousands of heat and light in the sub-zero temperatures of late winter.
Our Eastern Europe Correspondent Daniel McLaughlin reports this weekend from Mechnikov hospital in the city of Dnipro, the closest major medical centre to the main battlefield. The medical workers he talks to describe the dangers of rescuing wounded soldiers from the front line while armed Russian drones hover overhead in search of targets.
“We all know that this is our war, our country, that this is about defending our country ,” Oleksandr Tolubaiev, the hospital’s medical director, tells Daniel. “Of course, stress and fatigue have been extremely high for a long time, but there is no other way – we have to stand strong, endure and keep going until we win. And then we will rest.”
Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
Editor
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‘He destroyed our world.’ Danielle McLaughlin’s family on the murder of a ‘brilliant big sister’: Kitty Holland speaks to the family of Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin who was raped and murdered in India eight years ago.
Irish property market is rigged in favour of those who get parental gifts of up to €100,000: Gifts or loans from the bank of mum and dad are pushing up property prices, writes Fiona Reddan
Why childcare students are walking away from childcare jobs: Emmet Malone speaks to student disillusioned with their chosen career paths in childcare
Overheard chat on the train showed me the secret behind far-right AfD’s growth in German: Derek Scally reports from Germany on the rise of the AfD
