President Trump reportedly erupted in a shouting match with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pressing him to accept Russia’s Donbas terms and warning of Putin’s fury.
A dramatic confrontation unfolded inside the White House this week as U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in what European officials described as a “shouting match” over a new Russian peace proposal.
According to the Financial Times, Trump cursed repeatedly, dismissed Ukrainian battlefield maps, and warned that Vladimir Putin would “destroy” Ukraine if Zelenskyy refused to accept Moscow’s terms.
The explosive exchange marks Trump’s most aggressive push yet to end the two-year war — an effort he has pursued since brokering the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which restored his image as a global power broker.
💣 ‘Putin Will Destroy You’ — Trump’s Warning
Sources familiar with the meeting said Trump bluntly told Zelenskyy:
“If Putin wants it, he will destroy you.”
European officials told the FT that Trump repeated Putin’s claim that Russia’s invasion was merely a “special operation, not even a war,” infuriating the Ukrainian delegation.
When Zelenskyy’s aides presented frontline maps detailing Ukraine’s counteroffensive, Trump reportedly tossed them aside, saying he was “sick of seeing these red lines” and “didn’t even recognize” parts of the battlefield.
He further claimed Russia’s economy was “doing great” — contradicting his previous statements that Moscow was collapsing under sanctions.
Both the White House and Zelenskyy’s office have declined to comment on the report.
🧭 Russia’s ‘New’ Proposal
The Kremlin’s latest peace framework, reportedly conveyed through Trump, calls for Ukraine to surrender the remaining parts of Donbas still under its control in exchange for small sections of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — a slight retreat from Putin’s August demand in Alaska that Kyiv give up all four territories entirely.
For Kyiv, however, the offer remains unacceptable.
Ukrainian officials maintain that ceding any land rewards aggression and undermines both sovereignty and the global rule of law.
Trump, meanwhile, is said to favor a “freeze” along the current front lines, an arrangement that would de facto recognize Russian territorial gains — something Kyiv rejects outright.
⚔️ A War of Words in Washington
Friday’s fiery encounter echoed a previous February confrontation, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance reportedly accused Zelenskyy of lacking gratitude for U.S. aid.
This time, three European diplomats said Trump “lectured” the Ukrainian leader for much of the meeting, repeating Kremlin talking points and urging Ukraine to accept Putin’s compromise.
Zelenskyy, in a statement released Sunday, urged the U.S., Europe, and G7 to take “decisive steps” toward a just end to the war — a veiled rebuke of Trump’s pressure tactics.
🕊️ Next Steps: Budapest Summit Ahead
Trump told Fox News that he remained confident in his ability to “negotiate peace,” asserting that Putin “is going to take something — he’s won certain property.”
He and Putin have agreed to hold a second summit in Budapest within two weeks, following their August meeting in Alaska, which ended without agreement after Putin rejected Trump’s earlier proposal for an immediate ceasefire.
Whether Trump’s brand of deal-making diplomacy can end the war — or simply fracture Western unity — remains to be seen.
For now, the only certainty is that the world’s most dangerous war just reached the walls of the White House.
