Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described his recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump as a successful one, saying it led to progress on securing additional Patriot air defence systems—an account that stands in contrast to reports suggesting Trump had lashed out at him with profanity during their White House encounter.
In comments made to media on Sunday initially off-the-record but authorised for publication on Monday, the Ukrainian leader described Trump’s message at the meeting, which ended with Trump calling for a ceasefire with forces in place, as “positive”.
As a result of Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, Ukraine was now preparing a contract to buy 25 Patriot air defence systems, a major boost to its defences against Russian missile attacks, Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy was speaking before news organisations reported that Trump had pushed Zelenskyy to give up territory during their meeting, which sources described as more tense than initially disclosed.
Trump’s Message ‘Positive’
“After many rounds of discussion over more than two hours with (Trump) and his team, his message, in my view, is positive: that we stand where we stand on the front line,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine and its allies have long called for an immediate ceasefire with troops in place, while Moscow has demanded Ukraine cede further territory before it would halt fighting.
The Ukrainian President did not specify how close his country had come to signing the contract for the 25 Patriots, but he said that a great deal of time on his trip had been spent discussing the issue, including directly with Trump.
Zelenskyy did not achieve his stated aim of persuading Washington to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles for long-range attacks inside Russia.
Zelenskyy said he believed this was because Trump did not want to take steps that would anger Vladimir Putin shortly before a plan to meet the Russian president at a summit.
Trump-Zelenskyy Relationship
Zelenskyy has spent half a year rebuilding his relationship with Trump since a disastrous meeting in February, in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian leader in front of cameras in the White House Oval Office.
Zelenskyy returned to the White House on Friday to meet Trump, a day after Trump spoke by telephone to Putin.
Three sources described Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy as tense, with Trump repeatedly using profanity.
“It was pretty bad,” one of the sources said of the meeting. “The message was, ‘Your country will freeze, and your country will be destroyed'” if Ukraine doesn’t make a deal with Russia.
It was the latest apparent shift in positions for Trump, who had said for months that Ukraine must give up territory to make peace, only to describe Russia last month as a “paper tiger” and say Ukraine could potentially win back all its land.
Trump and Putin are planning to meet in Budapest, capital of Hungary, a NATO and EU member that has maintained warm relations with Moscow throughout the Ukraine war.
Zelenskyy criticised the choice of venue, suggesting that Hungary’s domestic politics had played a role in the choice: “We are talking about peace in Ukraine, not elections in Hungary”. However, he said that he would be willing to attend talks there if he were to be invited.
(With inputs from Reuters)
