After Oval Office disaster, Europe emerges as Ukraine’s best hope
Friday’s fiery Trump-Zelenskyy meeting sets up hard choices across the Atlantic.
Patrick Tucker | February 28, 2025
Hours after a heated disagreement in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, America’s sudden retreat from a democracy-forward foreign policy took dramatic form a bit further down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Between 14th and 12th Street, a small group of protestors—children and dogs in tow—held signs in support of fired USAID workers leaving the former headquarters of the largely-dismantled agency. Across the street, diplomats, reporters, and young Hudson Institute employees excitedly awaited the arrival of Zelenskyy. But the Ukrainian president did not show. Reportedly, he was calling other European leaders.
Perhaps the big takeaway from the day’s events: If Ukraine is to find a lasting peace, it will need far more support from Europe, and quickly.
The two presidents had been expected to use the meeting to sign a deal exchanging Ukrainian mineral rights for some sort of unspecified U.S. support.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/02/after-oval-office-disaster-europe-emerges-ukraines-best-hope/403399/?oref=d1-featured-river-secondary
