Trudeau voices support for Ukraine following tense Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
'Russians are noting' Trump's treatment of Zelenskyy, says Joly
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced support for Ukraine after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went completely off the rails.
Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday as the leaders met to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, access to the country's critical minerals and a potential ceasefire with Russia.
"For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all," Trudeau wrote on X in the wake of the meeting.
"Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace."
Multiple European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, also took to social media to signal their support for Ukraine.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said a ceasefire deal that doesn't include security guarantees for Ukraine could risk Russia re-arming and then invading its neighbour again.
"We believe in supporting Ukraine, our position has not changed. We think Ukrainians are fighting for their own freedoms and also fighting for ours," Joly told reporters Friday afternoon.
"Clearly, the Russians are noting the interaction that happened today and so our goal is to make sure we can continue to support Ukrainians and that we can keep very strong G7 unity amidst all this unpredictability," she said.
Neither Trudeau nor Joly mentioned Trump, and the prime minister didn't offer specific comments on the uneasy exchange between the two presidents.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back and forth after Zelenskyy urged skepticism about Russia's commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow's years of broken commitments on the global stage.
Vance responded by telling Zelenskyy, "Mr. President, with respect. I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media."
"You're gambling with the lives of millions of people," Trump added. "You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that's backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have."
"Your country's in big trouble … you're not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out of this OK because of us," Trump said before accusing the Ukrainian president of being reluctant to reach a ceasefire.
"Of course we want to stop the war but with [security] guarantees," Zelenskyy responded.
"You got to be more thankful. Because let me tell you, you don't have the cards. With us you have the cards but without us you don't have any cards," Trump said. A few moments later he suggested that Ukraine would be in a "much better position" if Zelenskyy agreed to the critical minerals deal.
"It's going to be a tough deal to make because the attitudes have to change," the U.S. president said.
Just before the reporters were ushered out of the Oval Office, Trump commented that the exchange "will be great television."
More than 40,000 civilian casualties
Monday marked three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in which more than 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have been injured or killed, according to the UN human rights office.
After Friday's meeting, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to accuse Zelenskyy of not wanting peace.
"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. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace," Trump wrote.
Zelenskyy posted his own short statement on X after the meeting.
Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>, Congress, and the American people. <br>Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.
—@ZelenskyyUa"Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you [Trump], Congress and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that," the Ukrainian president wrote.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on social media Friday evening that "Conservatives will always stand on the side of freedom and democracy."
"I have always been clear, we stand with Ukraine in its defence against [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion," Poilievre wrote. "I also firmly believe that the future of Ukraine must be determined by the Ukrainian people."
Other political leaders were more blunt than the Liberals and Conservatives in their reaction to the exchange between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents.
"The Bloc Québécois, and I in particular, express our indignation at this treatment of a leader and his people struggling with a despicable war," Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet wrote in French on X.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated his calls to uninvite Trump from the G7 meeting taking place in Canada later this year.
"President Zelenskyy is what courage looks like in these times. This is what it is to resist Donald Trump," Singh wrote on X.
"I would rather stand with President Zelenskyy any day, than invite Donald Trump to our country."
Alexandra Chyczij, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said the Zelenskyy meeting "was one of the most disgraceful things we have ever witnessed from a U.S. administration.
"To berate the leader of a country fighting for its life against Russia's genocidal war is an act of perfidy and dishonesty that is a stain on the United States," Chyczij said in a statement.
"To say that Ukraine is not ready for peace is simply a lie. It is Russia that does not want peace. It is Russia that started the war."
Zelenskyy's delegation was expected to sign the framework for an economic agreement with the U.S. aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come in an investment fund.
The deal, which is seen as a step toward ending the war, references the importance of Ukraine's security. But it leaves that to a separate agreement still being hammered out by the two leaders.
Brian Glenn, a pro-Trump media personality who was among reporters asking the two leaders questions, inquired about Zelenskyy's choice of garb.
Trump jokingly commented on Zelenskyy's attire when he arrived at the White House. The Ukrainian president — who hasn't worn any formal wear in public since Russia's full-scale invasion began, usually opting for military-like clothes — arrived in a black long-sleeve shirt with the Ukrainian coat of arms.
"You're all dressed up," Trump remarked as Zelenskyy exited his car.
"Why don't you wear a suit? You're at the highest level in this country's office and you refuse to wear a suit … do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the dignity of this office," Glenn said.
"I will wear [a suit] after the war is finished," Zelenskyy replied.
Last week, Trump called Zelenskyy a "dictator" on social media and during a news conference appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war.
During his first term as president, Trump suggested to Zelenskyy in a phone call that the Ukrainian leader should co-operate in efforts to discredit political rival Joe Biden.
U.S. aid to Ukraine was delayed, and the call resulted in Trump's first impeachment.
Corrections
- A previous version of this story contained a subheading that said 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have reportedly been killed in the war. In fact, an estimated 40,000 civilians have been killed or injured.Feb 28, 2025 11:00 PM EST
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With files from The Associated Press