1) (Updated) Trump cuts short talks with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy after Oval Office blow up

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Canadian Press, Feb. 28, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump has cut short talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he and and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukraine’s leader in the Oval Office.

The breakdown of negotiations come at a pivotal and precarious moment for Ukraine as Zelenskyy sought security guarantees from the U.S. and Trump’s administration seeks to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Here’s the latest:

Senior Russian official says Zelenskyy got a ‘fierce scolding’ by Trump

The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said Zelenskyy got a “fierce scolding” in the Oval Office, adding that Russia “must stop military aid” being given to Ukraine.

Journalists for Russian state television appeared shocked by the breakdown in diplomacy between Trump and Zelenskyy but pleased with Trump’s comments. The meeting between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance “stopped observing the limits of decency” and will “probably go down in history,” Russian state news anchor Alexander Kareevsky said on evening broadcasts, adding nothing similar has been seen in “diplomatic history.”

A correspondent for the Russia 24 state news channel said after the meeting that “it is clear that there can be no talk of any deliveries or further weapons,” to Ukraine and Zelenskyy “is leaving with nothing.” Kareevsky responded by saying Zelenskyy “went to buy himself a jacket after all,” referring to Trump’s comment where he asked the Ukrainian leader why he wasn’t wearing a suit.

Several Republican senators rally to Trump after tense Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, thanked Trump for “standing up for OUR COUNTRY and putting America first” in a post on X.

Other GOP senators who voiced clear support for Trump shortly after the interaction on social media include Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Missouri Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice.

Elon Musk: ‘Zelenskyy destroyed himself in the eyes of the American people’

Musk was weighing in on X about the contentious White House meeting with Trump.

Starlink, the satellite communications network owned by Musk-led SpaceX, has been crucial to Ukraine’s defense. Musk has also been in regular contact with Putin.

French President Emmanuel Macron reacts to Oval Office blow up between Trump and Zelenskyy

Macron said he believes “we all were right to have helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so.”

“There’s an aggressor, which is Russia, and a people attacked, which is Ukraine,” Macron told reporters as he was on a state visit to Portugal.

He added: “We must thank all those who helped and respect those who have been fighting since the beginning.”

In Ukraine, much of the immediate reaction to the meeting with Trump was supportive of Zelenskyy

“Unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s interests and devotion to his country. This is what we saw today in the United States. Support for the President of Ukraine,” Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, Oleksii Kuleba, wrote on Telegram on Friday.

Leaders of regions across the country also took to social media to back Zelenskyy.

“In the fight for the fate of the country — fundamentally unshakable. Unquestioning support for Volodymyr Zelensky. Endurance to our leader. We believe in the President! We believe in Ukraine,” Serhii Lysak, head of Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, which sits approximately 3 miles from where Russian forces are currently advancing on the battlefield.

‘Shame on you’ Sen. Amy Klobuchar says of Vance over treatment of Zelenskyy

A bipartisan group of senators had a “really good” morning meeting with Zelenskyy earlier in the morning, before he went to the White House, Klobuchar, D-Minn. posted earlier in the day.

Later, she responded directly to the White House, and specifically “Answer to Vance: Zelenskyy has thanked our country over and over again both privately and publicly.”

“And our country thanks HIM and the Ukrainian patriots who have stood up to a dictator, buried their own & stopped Putin from marching right into the rest of Europe.”

She wrote: “Shame on you.”

Polish PM tells Ukraine ‘you are not alone’

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to stand by Ukraine following the contentious Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in the Oval Office.

“Dear @ZelenskyyUa, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” Tusk wrote on X late Friday.

White House says Zelenskyy was asked to leave

Zelenskyy and his delegation were told to leave the White House early after the testy meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Zelenskyy left the White House without signing a critical minerals deal Trump had demanded

Trump suggested the deal was a condition for future support for Ukraine.

The landmark economic agreement aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine and would have closely tied the two countries together for years to come.

Zelenskyy has left the White House after tempers flared during his meeting with Trump

Zelenskyy walked briskly to his armored vehicle and quickly climbed in, escorted by a protocol officer who saw him off.

A planned news conference and ceremony to sign a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal were canceled.

Senate Democratic leader says Trump is ‘doing Putin’s dirty work’

Posting on X, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was reacting to the fallout of the tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The New York Democrat pledged his party would “never stop fighting for freedom and democracy.”

The rapid fallout from the meeting showed just how politically divided Washington is on continuing to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Just Friday morning, Zelenskky had met with a bipartisan group of senators and several Republicans in attendance had left praising the deal he had been readying to sign with Trump.

“This is a huge step forward in securing mutual prosperity and peace for Americans and Ukrainians,” Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had said in a statement shortly before Trump and Zelenskky’s Oval Office meeting.

Instead, the meeting ended with Trump cutting off talks with Zelenskyy.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, posted on X, “What an utter embarrassment for America. This whole sad scene.”

Trump cut off talks with Zelenskyy after their Oval Office blowup

In a post on Truth Social, Trump repeated that Zelenskyy was “disrespectful.”

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump wrote. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE.”

“He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” he added.

Zelenskyy had been scheduled to have lunch with Trump and both leaders were going to sign a minerals deal during a joint news conference. Instead, Zelenskyy’s armored SUV abruptly pulled up to the door of the West Wing moments after Trump’s post.

White House aides apparently delighted by heated exchange during the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

“This is going to be great television, I will say,” Trump said as the meeting broke up.

The White House communications team quickly clipped videos of the exchange and shared them on social media. Several Trump aides did so as well.

“President Trump and Vice President Vance will always stand for America and those who respect our position in the world. America will never be taken advantage of,” said Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president who shared one of the videos.

“Thank you @POTUS for standing up not only for America, but for the American warfighter,” the Defense Department’s rapid response account posted on X.

2) (Updated) Sending Canadian troops to Ukraine ‘on the table’ under possible peace deal

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Bill Graveland, Feb. 24, 2025.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not rule out sending Canadian troops to Ukraine as part of a possible ceasefire deal as he joined European leaders Monday in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“We will work with our neighbours on it, but everything is on the table,” Trudeau said at a joint media conference with other leaders, when asked about the prospect of Canadian soldiers on the ground.

Pushed later to expand on his comment about troops, Trudeau said the “first priority is to make sure that there is a ceasefire and that we set up the conditions for a lasting peace.”

“When we establish the way we’re going to keep a lasting peace … Canada will be involved, but we’re not at that position yet,” Trudeau told reporters.

He added that any deployment of Canadian soldiers “is something to take very, very seriously.”

Trudeau said Ottawa will have some role in pushing back on “the forces of chaos that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin is trying to unleash on the world, to undermine all of our democracies.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said last week that Canada was interested in “more Canadians being involved in protecting Ukraine,” as countries like the U.K. say they’re ready to deploy troops to uphold a possible peace deal.

The Kyiv meeting comes amid dismay across the continent at Washington holding talks with Russia that exclude Ukraine.

“We will have different perspectives from time to time on the best way forward,” Trudeau said Monday. “Those will be worked out in forums like this, or at the G7 forum or elsewhere. But we are united in our values.”

Earlier Monday, Trudeau announced that Canada will follow through on its pledge last June to provide $5 billion in aid to Ukraine using revenues from frozen Russian assets, after years of Ottawa promising to forfeit holdings associated with Russia’s government and its oligarchs.

Canada has been pushing Europeans to seize Russian funds held in frozen European accounts, or at least the interest accrued since the full-scale invasion, and forfeit the money to Ukraine.

Trudeau also pledged 25 additional light armoured vehicles for Ukraine and a grant to help with energy security as Russia attacks the country’s power grid.

In addition, Trudeau is promising two armoured combat-support vehicles for Ukrainian troops, who will be trained in Germany shortly to use the machines.

He said Canada will provide four F-16 flight simulators after recently delivering landing systems for the fighter jets to Ukraine.

Trudeau said Canada will continue training Ukrainian troops, so that Russia will not be allowed to end the world order that upheld sovereignty for many countries for decades. 

His office also announced funding for various initiatives, ranging from personal nuclear protective equipment to women’s political empowerment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Canada on Monday for its support to date, particularly training soldiers and helping supply “Canadian high-level optic technologies” for drones on the battlefield.

“Your people helped us at the very beginning of the war,” Zelenskyy said.

Support for Ukraine to end the war on its terms and with its territory intact has remained strong among Europeans, despite U.S. support for Ukraine wavering in recent weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed Ukraine for starting the war, and claimed Zelenskyy lacks legitimacy. 

Trump’s defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said any agreement to end the war would not include returning Ukraine to the 2014 borders that existed before Russia’s first invasion a decade ago, nor would the country be able to join NATO.

Canada and Europe have steadfastly laid all the blame on Russia for an unprovoked attack on another sovereign nation.

The war dates from 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea after pro-democracy protests in Ukraine. On Feb. 24, 2022, Moscow launched a full-scale invasion.

“This is not a conflict Ukraine wanted, provoked or asked for in any way,” Trudeau said at the summit table.

“This is a war started for one reason and one reason only: Russia’s desire to erase Ukrainian history and expand their empire.”

Regional leaders pointed to that threat Monday, and said the continent needs to form a coherent response.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Europeans need to present a strategy to the Americans, or they’ll continue being left out of the conversation.

“In Europe, we need to get our act together,” he said.

“I’m getting a little bit frustrated about this debate on boots on the ground, because that sort of misses the whole point,” he said, suggesting Europe can provide air, marine and intelligence support to Ukrainians who are already holding territory. 

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said his country needs clarity on whether there would be a ceasefire backed by “immediate and strong” retaliation if Russia violated its terms.

“Are we speaking of peacekeeping or peace enforcement?” he asked, arguing it’s “premature” to get into specifics.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine has an estimate of how many troops it needs to maintain the peace, but added Kyiv won’t let the Russians know that number until there is a viable plan to maintain peace.

“Of course, I know the number (of) what we need. And of course we will share it — firstly not in the open conversation, not to prepare Russians for this,” he said.

Some leaders appeared openly hostile to Trump’s comments and overtures to Moscow.

“Russia may have gained an open ear in the White House, but they have not gained an inch of legitimacy. No wrong has turned right, no war crime has been forgotten,” said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. 

“Does anybody honestly think that some thoughtless conversations or some reckless statements can crush our resolve.”

Many European leaders called for Ukrainian membership in the NATO military alliance, which Canada also supports.

Trudeau repeated his calls for Kyiv to have a direct role in negotiations for a possible end to the war.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, joining the summit online, said he wants the G7 to be bolder, and to go after banks that allow Moscow to evade sanctions and strengthen restrictions on the sale of Russian oil to allied countries.

Starmer is set to meet with Trump in Washington later this week.

Russia’s foreign ministry said Saturday that preparations for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin were underway, and U.S. officials have acknowledged that they had agreed with Moscow to re-establish diplomatic ties and restart economic co-operation.

Audible air-defence sirens rang out in the background during some of the leaders’ statements reiterating their support for Ukraine.

Monday marked Trudeau’s fourth visit to Ukraine since 2022 and almost certainly his last as prime minister, as his successor will be chosen next month.

Canada has been among the most vocal supporters of Ukraine on the world stage, with Trudeau championing accountability for Russia in global forums. 

Ottawa is a major donor to Ukraine, with the Kiel Institute for the World Economy ranking Canada as fifth in overall allocations in its Ukraine Support Tracker, which span military, financial and humanitarian contributions.

Yet Canada takes the 20th spot for military allocations weighted by population, and analysts have criticized Ottawa for delays in providing equipment sought by Ukraine.

Trudeau struck a note of urgency in his opening remarks Monday.

“We can’t wait. The moment to stop this war of aggression, the moment to defend democracy, the moment to stand for our shared values — is now. So let us seize it.”

— With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa and The Associated Press