BREAKING: Zelensky 'not ready for peace,' Trump says after heated Oval Office clash

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the latest details.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 28, after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, that Zelensky "is not ready for peace."

"He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace," Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after the meeting.

Zelensky has since left the White House, according to Reuters.

Trump said his meeting with Zelensky at the White House was meaningful and revealed things that "could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure."

He also claimed that Zelensky was "not ready for peace if America is involved" because he believed U.S. support gave him an advantage in negotiations.

"I don't want advantage, I want peace," Trump added.

The two leaders held a 45-minute press briefing in the Oval Office, which ended in a heated exchange over American aid to Ukraine and the conditions of a potential peace deal with Russia.

The dispute began when Zelensky responded to U.S. Vice President JD Vance's assertion that Ukraine must accept U.S.-proposed peace terms.

As Zelensky attempted to make his case, Trump interrupted: "You've done a lot of talking."

Zelensky pushed back, saying, "From the start of the war, we were alone."

Trump countered: "If you didn't have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks."

Zelensky's visit was preceded by weeks of tense negotiations as Ukraine rejected the initial two draft proposals, presenting them as one-sided obligations for Ukraine without any security commitments on Washington's side.

The long-debated agreement establishes a fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of proceeds from the future monetization of state-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.

Zelensky's reluctance to pen the initial draft, presented to him by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv on Feb. 12, prompted Trump to publicly lash out against the Ukrainian president.

Last week, Trump denounced Ukraine's head of state as a "dictator," accusing him of refusing to hold elections while echoing the Kremlin's false narratives about Zelensky's illegitimacy.

Zelensky, Trump get into heated argument while speaking with journalists in Oval Office

President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump held a 45-minute-long press briefing in the Oval Office that ended in a heated argument about American aid to Ukraine.

The Kyiv IndependentOleksiy Sorokin