Trump’s Zelensky outburst a culmination of weeks of frustration: Sources

WASHINGTON - The stunning blow-up between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House came after weeks of frustration by Mr Trump and his top aides who saw the Ukrainian leader as an obstacle to their goals of quickly ending the war, restoring ties with Moscow and sealing a potentially lucrative minerals deal, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.

The US president has long taken an adversarial stance towards Mr Zelensky and Ukraine. But the divide between the Ukrainian leader and the Trump White House has ballooned in recent days as talks over

a much-anticipated minerals deal

for joint development of Ukraine's natural resources got bogged down.

The extraordinary moment that unfolded in front of TV cameras on Feb 28 marked a potential turning point in Washington's relationship with Moscow.

In recent weeks Mr Trump has already upended decades of US foreign policy by publicly siding with the Russian leader, saying he "trusts" President Vladimir Putin is sincere in his desire to end the war - a belief that most Western officials, including intelligence officials, rebuke.

The conversation in the Oval Office on Feb 28 began with the usual pleasantries but began to go downhill after Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskiy of being ungrateful for US support. Minutes later it escalated into an unprecedented shouting match where Mr Trump and Mr Vance berated the Ukrainian wartime president.

Two White House officials said there was no attempt to ambush Mr Zelensky and that they thought the Feb 28 visit would be a win for Mr Trump, with Mr Zelensky expected to sign the minerals agreement.

However, the outburst did not come out of the blue, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Frustration has mounted inside the White House in recent weeks, particularly as Trump officials attempted to negotiate the minerals deal with Ukraine, the sources said.

In recent days, the exasperation among the White House officials risked derailing Mr Zelensky's visit. "I don't see why an invitation would make sense," one White House official told Reuters on Feb 26, when the Ukrainian president appeared to waver on signing the deal.

'Utter disaster'

While a subsequent agreement was later reached for Mr Zelensky to fly to the United States, Mr Trump had other frustrations.

In recent weeks, the Republican president told his closest advisers that he does not like the way in which Mr Zelensky has tried to drum up US support for Ukraine, claiming he used showmanship to try and win points with the media and Congress.

He also spoke to his national security team about the future of Mr Zelensky's time in office – and whether the US could force elections in Ukraine through peace negotiations, according to two sources.

Mr Trump has already openly pushed for elections in Ukraine and blasted Zelenskiy for not holding them after his official five-year term ran out in 2024. Russia has cited this in the past to assert that he is an illegitimate leader.

Ukrainian legislation prohibits holding elections during a state of martial law, which Ukraine declared

the day Russia invaded in February 2022.

Mr Trump has falsely claimed that Mr Zelensky has an approval rating of 4 per cent. A poll in Feburary put Mr Zelensky's approval ratings at 63 per cent.

The Republican president has also directed his team to limit communications as much as possible with Mr Zelensky's top aide Andriy Yermak, who had held a close working relationship with former Democratic President Joe Biden's security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House after the Feb 28 drama, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters he warned Mr Zelensky before the meeting to focus on the agreement at hand and to put off discussing security guarantees and a ceasefire until later.

"I talked to Zelensky this morning -- don't take the bait. President Trump was in a very good mood last night," he said.

Describing the episode as an “utter disaster”, Mr Graham said it would be difficult for Washington to deal with Mr Zelensky going forward.

"I don't know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again," he said. REUTERS