Shocked by Trump Meeting, Zelensky and Ukraine Try to Forge a Path Forward

For months leading into the American elections last fall, the prospect of a second Trump presidency deepened uncertainty among Ukrainians over how enduring American support would prove in a war threatening their national survival.

After President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous meeting with President Trump in the White House on Friday, many Ukrainians were moving toward a conclusion that seemed perfectly clear: Mr. Trump has chosen a side, and it is not Ukraine’s.

In one jaw-dropping meeting, the once unthinkable fear that Ukraine would be forced to engage in a long war against a stronger opponent without U.S. support appeared to move exponentially closer to reality.

“For Ukraine, it is clarifying, though not in a great way,” Phillips O’Brien, an international relations professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said in an interview. “Ukraine can now only count on European states for the support it needs to fight.”

An immediate result was that Ukrainians, including opposition politicians, were generally supportive of Mr. Zelensky on Saturday for not bending to Mr. Trump despite tremendous pressure.

Maryna Schomak, a civilian whose son’s cancer diagnosis has been complicated by the destruction of Ukraine’s largest children’s cancer hospital by a Russian missile strike, said that Mr. Zelensky had conducted himself with dignity.

“They gathered with one goal — to pressure us and undermine our authority on the global political stage,” she said of Mr. Trump and his team.

Mr. Zelensky signaled on Saturday that he had not completely given up hope of repairing the relationship with Mr. Trump. Posting on social media, he went out of his way to thank the United States, perhaps trying to address Mr. Trump’s complaint on Friday that he was ungrateful.

“I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people,” he wrote. “Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion.”

At the same time, Mr. Zelensky began laying the groundwork for moving ahead with the European countries that have stood by Kyiv’s side. Ukraine announced plans on Saturday for a joint weapons venture with France that would be financed by frozen Russian assets.

Later in the day, Mr. Zelensky was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, who has been a supporter of the Ukrainian president in the face of Mr. Trump’s harsh rebukes. On Sunday, Mr. Zelensky will attend a summit of European leaders hosted by Mr. Starmer.

While much of the focus was on the shocking tone and theatrics of the dressing-down delivered by the American president to a putative ally, Professor O’Brien, the St. Andrew’s scholar, said that Mr. Trump’s comments suggested that the root of the public rupture ran deeper.

“He was trying to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to a cease-fire along Putin’s lines, and Zelensky refused,” Professor O’Brien said, referring to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. “Trump comes out and says that explicitly at the end.”

Mr. Trump had shouted at the Ukrainian leader, “You’re buried there,” and said, “Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers.”

As Mr. Zelensky tried to defend himself, Mr. Trump talked over him.

“No, listen,” he continued. “And then you tell us, ‘I don’t want a cease-fire. I don’t want a cease-fire.’”

The exchange, Professor O’Brien said, reflects Mr. Trump’s belief that “Ukraine should shut up and take Trump’s and Putin’s terms.”

The real affront that prompted the spectacle, many Ukrainians and analysts believe, is that Mr. Zelensky pushed back against some of Mr. Trump’s terms.

Along the front lines, some soldiers said that the realization was sinking in that Mr. Trump would probably not help Ukraine. “Trump chose his side in this war,” said Pvt. Serhiy Hnezdilov in a telephone interview from the front on Saturday.

Private Hnezdilov said that he supported Mr. Zelensky’s stance, adding that he thought the attempt to humiliate the Ukrainian leader was probably the goal of the invitation to the White House.

“The scandal we witnessed was essentially the only purpose of that meeting,” the private said. “It looked utterly absurd, considering that we, Ukrainians, have always regarded America as an example of democracy and, most importantly, of values.”

Ukrainians may have been naïve, he added.

Still, many Ukrainians were shaken by the public falling-out in Washington, and Mr. Zelensky sought to reassure his war-weary nation on Saturday.

“People in Ukraine need to know they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country and every corner of the world,” he said in a statement.

Leaders across Europe took to social media to voice support of Ukraine, and Mr. Zelensky offered his personal thanks for every statement while reposting them.

But Mr. Zelensky did acknowledge that losing U.S. military support would be a devastating blow.

“It will be difficult for us,” he told Fox News after the White House meeting. “That’s why I’m here.”

Mr. Zelensky’s domestic standing appeared to be holding steady in the immediate aftermath of the meeting, despite a statement by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, calling for Mr. Zelensky to resign or be dismissed. “I don’t know if we can ever do business” Mr. Graham said, only days after praising the Ukrainian leader as an ideal ally.

Mr. Zelensky received a public signal of support from the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, who would assume the presidency if Mr. Zelensky resigned. “Full support for the President of Ukraine!” Mr. Stefanchuk wrote in a social media post.

Opposition figures also backed Mr. Zelensky.

“Though I do not fully agree with President Zelensky’s policies, I must say that I am genuinely grateful to him for withstanding this pressure,” Natalia Pipa, a member of Parliament for the Holos party, said in an interview.

“Trump behaved disgustingly and condescendingly,” she added.

The path ahead for Ukraine, politicians and analysts said, was to try to repair relations with the United States, where defense contractors are one constituency with an interest in continuing American support, while trying to shore up European backing. Mr. Zelensky will also be trying to get a role in the negotiations for a peace settlement, though Mr. Trump seems intent on dealing directly with Mr. Putin.

But the anger directed at Mr. Zelensky in the Oval Office came against a tense backdrop in which Mr. Trump has increasingly aligned himself with the Kremlin in both words and actions.

Since Mr. Trump picked up the phone on Feb. 12 for a 90-minute chat with Mr. Putin, he has called Mr. Zelensky “a dictator”; falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war; and pressed the Ukrainian leader to accede to his administration’s demands, posting that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Last week, the State Department terminated an initiative that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine’s energy grid after attacks by the Russian military.

While pressuring Kyiv, Mr. Trump has said that he would “love” to see Russia back in the Group of 7 — a gathering of the world’s wealthiest large democracies — and that “it was a mistake to throw them out.”

He offered Mr. Putin generous concessions on NATO and Ukrainian territory even before the talks started, and repeated the Kremlin’s calls for elections in Ukraine.

The White House has also cut funding for pro-democracy programs as part of its efforts to dismantle U.S.A.I.D., a move celebrated by the Kremlin.

The Trump administration has also offered public support for far-right parties in Europe known for their support of Moscow, including the AfD in Germany.

The U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, has also disbanded an F.B.I. task force focused on investigating foreign influence operations, and the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has ordered that Russia be removed as a target of U.S. cybersecurity planning.

Washington also sided with Moscow in a vote at the United Nations that would have condemned Russian aggression on the third anniversary of the Ukraine invasion — breaking with allies to join a small group of nations including North Korea and Belarus.

Having endured years of loss and suffering, Ukrainians would like nothing more than to see an end to the war, but not if the price is their freedom, Mr. Zelensky has been insisting.

Natalka Sosnytska, program coordinator at a Ukrainian organization that helps children with war trauma, echoed that sentiment. “Of course, we want peace, but only after our victory,” she said. “By standing his ground, Zelensky preserved our dignity as a nation.”

Liubov Sholudko and Yurii Shyvala contributed reporting.