When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Washington on Aug. 18 for pivotal talks over the future of Russia’s war in Ukraine, he will be backed by several of his European allies.
That may be because when Zelensky was last in town for talks in February, a highly watched diplomatic meeting—which was supposed to draw Kyiv and Washington closer together—rapidly devolved into an explosive shouting match with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
It’s a reflection of the two leaders’ tumultuous and shifting relationship as the Russia-Ukraine war stretches past its third year and Trump vacillates between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Their stormy history goes all the way back to Trump’s first term in office, when the U.S. leader withheld nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine and then urged Zelensky to investigate Trump’s then-political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter—ultimately leading to his first impeachment.
But since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and since Trump made quickly ending the war a central goal of his second presidency, his relationship with Zelensky has become even more important.
Here is a brief timeline of some of the two leaders’ most turbulent moments since Trump returned to office.
Feb. 19: Trump attacked Zelensky on Truth Social, calling him a “dictator without elections.”
“I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues,” Trump posted.
Feb. 28: Zelensky visited the White House to discuss a potential U.S.-Ukraine natural resources deal. But the talks rapidly collapsed in front of news media in the Oval Office as both Trump and Vance loudly spoke over and berated the Ukrainian leader, accusing him of being “disrespectful” and of not showing enough gratitude for all the help that the United States has given Ukraine.
“[Zelensky] disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office,” Trump posted on Truth Social afterward. “He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
March 11: Zelensky announced that Ukraine has accepted a 30-day cease-fire proposal after U.S. and Ukrainian officials held peace talks in Saudi Arabia. In turn, Washington announced that it would resume intelligence sharing and security assistance to Kyiv.
“Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take such a step, and the United States of America must convince Russia to do so,” Zelensky said.
April 26: Trump and Zelensky held a 15-minute one-on-one meeting in Rome on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral, marking the two leaders’ first meeting since their fiery exchange in February.
After the meeting, Trump was publicly critical of Putin and expressed his frustration with recent Russian missile attacks in a post on Truth Social. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’” Trump wrote. “Too many people are dying!!!”
May 18: Zelensky met with Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Italy, at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Rome.
May 19: Trump spoke with Zelensky before a two-hour phone call with Putin and informed the Ukrainian leader of what was discussed afterward. “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
July 24: Trump and Zelensky met for 50 minutes on the sidelines of a NATO summit. After the talks, Trump appeared to consider sending more Patriot missiles to Kyiv, telling reporters that even though the weapons are “very hard to get,” “we are going to see if we can make some of them available.”
July 4: Trump and Zelensky hold a phone call. Later, Zelensky said that call was “probably the best conversation” the two have had and “the most productive.”
Trump later announced that he will resume sending weapons to Ukraine, days after a shock White House announcement that the Defense Department would pause some of those weapons shipments.
July 9: Zelensky discussed Ukraine’s defense with Keith Kellogg, the Trump administration’s Russia-Ukraine special envoy. “We continue to help Ukraine defend its people and prevent loss of innocent life,” Kellogg later posted on X. “Last night Ukraine sustained over 740 drone/missile attacks. A historical high number ever in history. The war needs to stop.”
Aug. 16: One day after the Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage, Alaska, Zelensky posted on X that he had a “long and substantive conversation” with Trump. The two spoke one-on-one for about an hour, he said, and then were joined by other European leaders.
“On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war,” he added. “I am grateful for the invitation.”
Aug. 17: In a post on Truth Social, Trump appeared to place the responsibility of ending the war entirely on Zelensky.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote. “Remember how it started. No getting back [former U.S. President Barack] Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
The post A Brief History of Trump’s Tumultuous Relationship With Zelensky appeared first on Foreign Policy.
