Since Friday, many on the right have speculated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received some seriously bad advice before his tense meeting with Donald Trump. And now, thanks to at least one report—complete with a damning tweet—we may have our answer.
Before stepping into what turned out to be a disastrous Oval Office meeting, Zelensky sat down with a group of lawmakers who reportedly urged him to reject a minerals deal proposed by the Trump administration. That decision may have set the stage for the confrontational tone that followed.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who attended the meeting, made no secret of the discussions. He noted that Zelensky was allegedly unwilling to accept a peace agreement that, in his view, handed too much to Russia without ensuring Ukraine’s security. Murphy even shared a photo from the meeting, underscoring Zelensky’s stance.
“Just finished a meeting with President Zelensky here in Washington,” Murphy posted on X. “He confirmed that the Ukrainian people will not support a fake peace agreement where Putin gets everything he wants and there are no security arrangements for Ukraine.” [emphasis added]
Just finished a meeting with President Zelensky here in Washington. He confirmed that the Ukrainian people will not support a fake peace agreement where Putin gets everything he wants and there are no security arrangements for Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/eaCePJ4UZr
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 28, 2025
That decision to double down on aligning with Democrats came at a steep price, according to Michael Goodwin at The New York Post:
By listening to the nakedly partisan advice of Dems instead of dealing forthrightly with the current president, Zelensky betrayed his countrymen and, for now at least, leaves them without the military and diplomatic protection that only America can provide.
…
In a perverse way, Murphy and other Dems got the outcome they wanted. The fireworks at the White House gave them an excuse to replay their Russia Russia Russia hoax.
Once again, they and their media handmaidens are dishonestly insisting that Trump is in Vladimir Putin’s camp.
Like the original Russia hoax that consumed much of Trump’s first term, Russia 2.0 is born of political desperation. After months of not knowing how to respond to Trump’s fast, populist start to his second term, Dems up and down the food chain decided that the president’s refusal to write a blank check to Zelensky and pledge a military guarantee amounts to a gift to Putin.
Shortly afterward, Zelensky arrived at the White House for what was originally expected to be a straightforward discussion finalizing a minerals agreement—one that would grant U.S. companies access to Ukraine’s rare-earth resources. But the meeting took a sharp turn when Zelensky began questioning the deal’s lack of security guarantees.
From President Trump’s perspective, the minerals deal was a crucial piece of a broader peace initiative, with economic cooperation serving as both a rebuilding tool and a deterrent to Russian aggression. Trump, who had long criticized the Biden administration’s slow and ineffective military aid strategy to Russia’s decade old conflict with Ukraine that began with its annexation of Crimea, believed his approach could bring a quicker resolution to the conflict.
However, Zelensky’s push for formal security guarantees didn’t sit well with the administration. White House sources claim Trump and Vice President JD Vance hadn’t planned to ambush Zelensky, but as video shows, they became visibly frustrated, seeing his demands as a sudden reversal.
Tensions boiled over, and the meeting ended with Trump abruptly dismissing Zelensky from the room.
Even some conservatives—and a few liberals—who have been critical of Trump’s stance on Russia saw Zelensky’s position as unrealistic. The aftermath of the meeting has fueled speculation that Democratic lawmakers influenced Zelensky into taking a more rigid stance, a gamble that ultimately backfired. While Democrats framed the dispute as proof of Trump’s deference to Russia, Trump allies countered that Zelensky’s hardline approach undermined hard-fought negotiations.
This is entirely Zelensky’s fault. Trump greeted him graciously, was ready to turn the page. Just said he wanted to get help Ukraine get it’s territory back. And Z comes in and gets into a fight in public? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. https://t.co/633sPiJQPn
— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) February 28, 2025
One pro-Ukraine expert, normally supportive of Zelensky, offered me this perspective: pic.twitter.com/0VANpy1QIG
— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) February 28, 2025
I've said many times that I do not agree with the US president's approach to Ukraine.
— Ryan Evans (@EvansRyan202) February 28, 2025
Still, Zelensky screwed this up bigtime
These are two thoughts that can live compatibly in one's head. https://t.co/XdJcRkzYe2
For the Trump administration, Zelensky’s rejection of the deal was more than a disagreement—it was a lost opportunity that could leave Ukraine further isolated. Trump has repeatedly emphasized that his administration will not provide unlimited financial and military assistance, and Zelensky’s approach may have put future U.S. support at risk. Without Washington’s backing, Ukraine faces a precarious path forward, as European allies continue to voice rhetorical support but remain hesitant to commit to direct military intervention.
Beyond the minerals deal, the bigger issue looms: Trump has insisted that any final peace agreement must involve some territorial concessions to Russia and a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine. By publicly rejecting these terms rather than negotiating privately, Zelensky may have placed even greater strain on an already fragile U.S.-Ukraine relationship.
Asked if the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal is still on the table after President Trump's explosive meeting with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, "It's impossible to have an economic deal without a peace deal."
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 2, 2025
He says Zelenskyy has… pic.twitter.com/RKmCUcHR6s
Zelensky’s concerns about Russian aggression are understandable—especially given Moscow’s history of violating ceasefires, using hybrid warfare tactics and launching cyberattacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure. But Friday’s meeting has left Washington and Europe abuzz with speculation and concern. With no deal in hand and no immediate security guarantees, Ukraine now faces a more uncertain diplomatic and military landscape than ever. Zelensky must now find a way forward without the assurances he had hoped to secure in Washington.
READ NEXT: A New Path To Peace In Europe: Can It Succeed Now?
At what point did Zelenskyy ask for a blank check? All he was saying was that mere diplomacy has already been tried with Putin and it didn’t work. Putin funded and equipped insurgent forces in Luhansk and Donetsk for years, then lied about how those troops massing on the Ukraine border were just there for training purposes and broke the peace deal that had been agreed to in 2020 with Zelenskyy by launching an unprovoked full scale invasion.
Trump had nothing to do with any of those actions by Putin, of course, but Trump also did not even know the history of when Russia had seized Crimea in 2014. Likely Trump is completely unaware of the history of Russian oppression of the Ukrainian people for the past 4 centuries. This bad blood is not going away.
Your TDS has you spewing misinformation. The only question is do you really believe what you write, or do you know they are not true and write them anyway.
As I see it… Trump is working to get back the Billions in laundered money. Z has a choice… return all the money that has been laundered into the pockets of himself and American politicians or sign over a deal for the USA to get it back via minerals. Z gambled, chose war, and will lose. Their $$ tap has been shut off.
What’s more, Z laid out a veiled threat to the USA. If something happens, you know there will be several US politicians complicit in an attack.
How does Zelenskyy know what the deal will be until the negotiation is finished? I think there are too many people, both here and abroad, that want this war to continue and maybe even escalate. I’m beginning to wonder who the bad guys really are.
In my opinion, Zelenskyy proved to me he is stupid, proud and more stupid. If he chose to listen to a bunch of Congress that were dems. he played right into their hands. They (as he knows) do not care about Ukraine. They care about power and money. The longer the war goes on and if America gives them arms and money, they win. U is a money laundering, human trafficking bemouth. No wars are fought without some getting major rich. Those that get rich do not care about the death count. They care about money.
Another thing is, he cannot govern. He has no experience and I bet he is as corrupt as they come. He’s knows how to perform. He is WAY out of his league. Which makes him a stupid puppet clown. All who know the situation and background know this. And, they will use it to their advantage. Stopping the war is for the Ukraine people who are left. So, those who are waving the U flags should be wanting the war to be over rather than wishing America would send more money and weapons. BE SMART.
Damn TDS
After the fall of the Soviet Empire, Ukraine w inherited a number of nuclear weapons. They felt they needed them for protection, However. The USA & UK, along with Russia, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan brokered a deal to remove and deactivate the nukes, meanwhile guaranteeing Ukraines safety in the Budapest Memorandum. We see how that worked out. Russia first attacked and seized part of Ukraine in 2012, then again in 2022. In the first encounter we, and the UK did nothing substantive. Second time around we pitched in. Now we are supposed to believe that Putin will not rebuild his military and attack again. I like a lot of Trump’s ideas, but the EU is right on this ne.