The fiery and very public bust-up between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a disaster for Ukraine and its European allies and a triumph for Russia.
The spectacle of the US president and his deputy berating the Ukrainian leader for failing to be grateful for American support and portraying him as weak was hard to witness.
Mr Zelenskyy, arms crossed, face exasperated, tried his best to stand up for himself, but it was clear he was fighting a losing battle.
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It was a humiliation for a wartime president played out in front of the world’s cameras by the head of a nation that is meant to be Ukraine’s most important ally.
But the extraordinary breakdown is far more serious than just a made-for-television drama.
American support for Ukraine is critical if Kyiv is to withstand Russia’s war.
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The UK, France and Ukraine’s other European allies have been working overtime to try to keep Mr Trump on side.
Kyiv’s ‘shattered’ attempt to work with Washington
The US president has vowed to end the war and has started talks with Vladimir Putin. The two presidents also plan to meet.
That alone was hard for Kyiv to stomach.
But the Ukrainian government has attempted to work with Washington rather than against it, including by being willing to part with profits from its minerals and other natural resources in return for locking Mr Trump into a long-term partnership with Ukraine.
That now all looks to be shattered – or at best in serious jeopardy.
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If Mr Trump, in anger, withdraws all his military support to Ukraine, Kyiv’s ability to endure Russia’s invasion will be seriously diminished.
The Europeans lack the capability to fill the void.
The only person who wins in this scenario is Mr Putin.
Europe’s strategy for Zelenskyy
Given all that was at stake, Mr Zelenskyy was doubtless counselled by European allies to resist rising to any insults hurled at him by the Trump team before he boarded his flight to Washington.
Only last week, Mr Trump himself called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator” – and suggested Kyiv was to blame for the war.
However, the hostile onslaught in the Oval Office was clearly too much to take.
It was triggered by JD Vance who goaded the Ukrainian leader for not showing thanks to the American people for all the military support – even though Mr Zelenskyy always makes a point of expressing gratitude.
The Ukrainian president tried to stand up for himself but this triggered Mr Trump to turn on him as well, addressing him as though he were a naughty school boy.
Mr Zelenskyy’s efforts to defend himself were widely applauded by his fellow Ukrainians back home as well as some close allies, but it was a move that he may come to regret if it makes future dealings with the White House impossible – an outcome that unfortunately would be very dangerous for Ukraine.
One Western source told me that Mr Zelenskyy “could have played it better”, but the source noted that the president’s country is at war – signalling that it is hardly surprising he felt the need to defend himself and Ukraine.
The row will doubtless be played back with glee inside the Kremlin.
Major victory for Moscow
Russia will view this public meltdown in US-Ukraine ties at the highest level as a major victory and it will doubtless spur a doubling down of attacks by Russian forces along the frontline as they try to push their advantage.
For Ukraine’s president he will surely be asking himself whether he could have handled the encounter more diplomatically.
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He already seems to be trying to mend fences, posting on social media after being asked to leave the White House, to say a very clear “thank you” to the American people and their president.
It is hard to imagine a greater contrast between the public mauling of Mr Zelenskyy by Mr Trump and the chummy display of friendship the American president bestowed on the visiting British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer barely 24 hours earlier.
It makes a summit of European leaders, including Mr Zelenskyy, the UK is hosting on Ukraine on Sunday all the more critical.
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European allies will stand firm with the Ukrainian president but – given the display of hostility towards Ukraine by the White House – they may soon have to stand even firmer against Mr Trump.
