ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:
Where a meeting at the White House today turned into a shouting match on live television - the confrontation between President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy may make what was already a fraught relationship one that could break down completely. That, in turn, could change the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. For more, we're joined by NPR's Greg Myre, who's covered the war extensively. Hi, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Adrian.
FLORIDO: First, briefly describe, if you could, what happened when Trump and Zelenskyy sat down in the Oval Office.
MYRE: So Zelenskyy began talking about the history of the war with Russia, and then Vice President JD Vance interjected, saying it was disrespectful for the Ukrainian leader to make his case in front of the media, all the journalists who were there. Zelenskyy shot back that the U.S. could someday itself feel threatened by Russia, and this ignited Trump, who joined Vance in attacking Zelenskyy, saying, quote, "you're gambling with World War III." There was shouting, finger-pointing, all with the TV cameras rolling. And Adrian, no one can recall anything like this happening before in the Oval Office.
FLORIDO: It was a remarkable scene. This was something that was supposed to be a meeting where the two leaders would sign an agreement on sharing Ukraine's minerals. What happened to that?
MYRE: The ceremony was canceled. Not clear if the agreement will go forward now. Ukraine was not very happy with this deal. It would have had to give half of any new revenues from natural resources - this would be oil and gas, uranium, lithium - to help cover the costs of the war. It wasn't really clear what Ukraine was getting in return. There's some vague language about security guarantees, but Trump has been saying he expects Europe to provide security to Ukraine, and he's been very noncommittal about what the U.S. might do. So this hastily arranged deal, which was really just a framework without specifics, could be the first casualty of today's confrontation in the White House.
FLORIDO: Greg, what does this mean for any U.S. military aid to Ukraine?
MYRE: The U.S. is still providing military assistance to Ukraine. This is coming out of the big package that was approved last year. There are still a few billion dollars working its way through the pipeline, but that will be exhausted pretty soon. And even before today, Trump had made pretty clear he was not interested in providing additional assistance to Ukraine. Today's developments could further harden Trump's position, as he said to Zelenskyy, quote, "you're either going to make a deal, or we're out." And he went on to say, "and if we're out, you'll fight it out" and "I don't think it's going to be pretty."
FLORIDO: Greg, if this rupture becomes permanent, if the relationship completely falls apart, if Trump cuts off aid to Ukraine, could Europe step in and make up the difference?
MYRE: The short answer is no. Collectively, European countries have actually provided a bit more overall aid to Ukraine - military, financial, humanitarian - than the U.S., but Europe is simply not capable of replacing everything the U.S. has been providing. Europe is not producing enough artillery shells and other ammo to replenish what the Americans are sending. Ukraine uses U.S. air defenses like the Patriot system, and the U.S. supplies the missiles. Without those missiles, the system is useless, and the relentless Russian air strikes are forcing the Ukrainians to use up their stocks. And the U.S. has a vast intelligence network that helps Ukraine target the Russians. Europe simply can't provide these kinds of capabilities.
FLORIDO: Well, I've been speaking with NPR's Greg Myre. Thanks, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Adrian. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
