Russia is pleased with the recent events that unfolded in the Oval Office involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance. However, one notable figure from Russia has yet to share his thoughts – Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented on the matter at the time of this report.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a strong supporter of Putin, expressed his approval of what he referred to as a “firm rebuke” delivered to Zelenskyy by Trump and Vance. In a social media post, Medvedev also echoed Trump’s sentiments about Ukraine potentially risking a world war.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova remarked that it was fortunate that Trump and Vance restrained themselves from physically confronting Zelenskyy during the heated interaction.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as U.S. Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo)
After the tense Oval Office meeting, leaders from across the globe came out condemning Trump and Vance’s actions and showing their support for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently met with Trump in DC, expressed support for Ukraine in a post on X.
“There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago—and to keep doing so,” Macron wrote. “By ‘we,’ I mean the Americans, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese, and many others.”
While U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer has yet to comment publicly, the leader of the U.K. Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, spoke out in support of Ukraine, writing, “We need to remember that the villain is the war criminal President Putin who illegally invaded another sovereign country – Ukraine.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an ardent Trump critic, wrote, “Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace.”
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv were clear before any words were exchanged in the Oval Office. On Feb. 19, President Trump called President Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in a post on Truth Social. However, when he was asked about his comment during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump appeared to back down saying, “Did I say that?”
The Trump administration’s approach to Kyiv wildly deviates from that of the Biden administration. Biden made his pro-Ukraine stance clear after the February 2022 invasion, despite suggesting in January 2022 that a “minor incursion” would result in lighter consequences. Trump, on the other hand, told the media minutes before the exchange that he would not take either Russia or Ukraine’s side. Rather, he was “not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America and for the good of the world.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves the White House after a heated meeting in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
In an exclusive interview with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier, Zelenskyy did not apologize for the heated exchange, but he acknowledged that it was “bad for both sides.”
“I just want to be honest, and I just want our partners to understand the situation correctly, and I want to understand everything correctly. That’s about us not to lose our friendship,” Zelenskyy said on “Special Report.”
