Why are Trump and Zelenskyy fighting?

The meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, White House, Washington DC, on Friday (28/2/2025) local time or Saturday afternoon, ended in a heated argument. Trump pressured Zelenskyy to immediately implement a ceasefire with Russia, but Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine needed security guarantees before making peace. Tensions escalated when Trump accused Zelenskyy of not genuinely wanting peace. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful for U.S. assistance. The atmosphere of the meeting was highly unpleasant.

One of the main agendas of the meeting was the signing of a rare earth mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine. However, the signing event was canceled due to a dispute in the Oval Office. Zelenskyy also objected to the US demands seeking significant profits from Ukraine's minerals in exchange for military aid.

Since Trump assumed office as the President of the United States, the relationship between the country and Europe has experienced a sharp division, particularly in policies related to Ukraine. Trump preferred a direct negotiation approach with Russia, while European countries continued to fully support Ukraine. This has caused tensions between the United States and its European allies, who feel sidelined in the negotiation process.

European leaders demonstrated strong solidarity with Ukraine following the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting at the White House. They emphasized that Russia is the aggressor, while Ukraine is the victim. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and other European leaders openly expressed their support for Zelenskyy, even considering the enhancement of direct military aid to Ukraine without relying on the US.

On the other hand, Russia welcomed Trump's policies, which tended to be more lenient toward Moscow. The Kremlin viewed the shift in the U.S. stance as an opportunity to reach agreements favorable to Russia, including the possibility of opening cooperation in the rare earth minerals sector. Putin demonstrated a willingness to engage in dialogue with Trump, who was considered more open to compromise compared to the previous U.S. administration.

The decision of the US not to support the UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further widened the gap between the US and Europe. This marks the first time since the beginning of the war that the US has not sided with Europe on the Ukraine issue. Instead, Trump proposed an alternative resolution that does not label Russia as the aggressor, something that was rejected by many European countries.

The difference in approach is also evident in security policy. Trump has pressured Zelenskyy to accept peace with Russia, but without offering strong security guarantees. This has made Ukraine increasingly worried about losing support from its main ally, the US, which has been its main provider of military and financial aid.

Tensions have been further heightened by Russia offering the U.S. rare earths as an alternative if the Ukraine deal fails, a move that signals Moscow sees an opportunity to move closer to Washington economically, even as political and military ties remain strained.

European leaders have also begun considering independent steps to help Ukraine, including the possible deployment of a European peacekeeping force. Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have proposed that Europe take a bigger role in regional security, given the uncertainty of U.S. support under Trump.

On the other hand, Zelenskyy is increasingly squeezed by global political pressure. Ukraine faces a major dilemma: accept a deal that benefits the US and Russia or continue to fight to maintain its position with limited European support. Meanwhile, pressure from Trump to immediately end the war without conditions that benefit Ukraine makes Zelenskyy's position even more difficult.

In this situation, Ukraine’s future depends on how European countries respond to the US policy shift and whether they are able to maintain support for Kyiv without Washington’s full involvement. Meanwhile, Russia appears to be growing more confident in the negotiations, seeing Trump as a more compromise-oriented leader than his predecessor.

Note: The summary was created based on a number of articles in kompas.id with the help of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) engine, and still goes through a process of checking and editing by Kompas editors.

To better understand the development of the Ukraine-Russia war issue, you can read the articles that are used as the basis for making the summary. There are 10 articles used, namely: