Zelensky lands in UK ahead of European summit after furious White House bust-up with Trump: LIVE updates

A body language expert described President Trump as an ‘alpha male’ who was in a state of ‘aggressive arousal’ during his Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking with DailyMail.com on Friday following the press conference, James said the encounter revealed ‘alpha male Trump in [a] state of aggressive arousal’.

She also waded in on Vance arguing with Zelensky, saying he had acted ‘like the grain of sand that irritates the oyster to produce the pearl’.

Three people have been killed in a Ukrainian attack on a Russian-occupied part of Kherson region in southern Ukraine, Russian-installed governor Vladimir Saldo said on Saturday.

Two of them were killed on a road between the villages of Nova Maiachka and Obryvka, while the third was killed in the town of Oleshky, Saldo said via his channel on Telegram.

Five other people were injured of varying degrees of severity, Saldo said.

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet in Downing Street on Saturday afternoon, No 10 has said, after the Ukrainian President arrived in the UK by plane.

This morning former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that the Nato could be at risk of losing the US if it does not feel Europe is ‘pulling its weight’.

Mr Hunt told the Today programme: ‘From Europe’s point of view there is an even bigger priority than the future of Ukraine, which is the future of Nato. And there is a simple message from what happened yesterday and that is that we can’t take that for granted.

‘The 2.5 per cent of GDP increase in defence spending this week is extremely welcome from Keir Starmer but it won’t be enough and we need all European Nato countries to be spending much closer to the 3.4 per cent of GDP that America is spending before America feels that Europe is pulling its weight.

‘And if we don’t do that, if America feels unfairly treated, we can see the fireworks and the sort of things that we’ll be putting at risk. So right now that is a very, very big priority behind the scenes – to make sure that America remains anchored in the Western alliance.’

President Zelensky has issued a new statement this morning following yesterday’s drama, as he bids to shore up global support.

Posting on Twitter, he said: ‘We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion.

‘America’s help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals.’

He added that Trump’s support is ‘crucial’ to fighting Russia, continuing: ‘The Russians are killing us. Russia is the enemy, and that’s the reality we face. Ukraine wants peace, but it must be a just and lasting peace.’

He ended his statement by issuing a fresh thank you to America: ‘American people helped save our people. Humans and human rights come first. We’re truly thankful. We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them.’

Volodymyr Zelensky has touched down in the UK following a brutal bust-up with Donald Trump as he continues to insist he will not apologise to the American President – but Ukraine’s relationship with the US can still be saved.

World leaders have been warned the surreal scene in the Oval Office could spell the end of Nato – and Trump could halt military aid to Ukraine as early as today.

The American leader yesterday led an unprecedented humiliation of the war-time premier alongside attack dog VP JD Vance, later declaring that his counterpart was ‘not ready for peace’.

He accused Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War Three’ as they abandoned plans to sign a minerals deal which would have given further US support in exchange for access to Ukraine’s natural resources.

Last night Sir Keir talked with both leaders following the clash – just a day after he met with Trump to lavish praise on the US president’s efforts to secure a peace deal.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday that Russia is ready for flexibility in talks on Ukraine, but only in accordance with the Russian constitution and realities on the ground, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Medvedev said Russia was ready to discuss a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, but only with those ‘who are ready to communicate’.

Gloating Russians dubbed yesterday’s meetinga ‘public political execution’ and a ‘verbal brawl’ where ‘Zelensky was shown the door’ as they delight while the West falls into chaos.

President Zelensky has touched down on UK soil just hours after the furious scenes in the Oval Office on Friday.

Sir Keir’s crunch talks at Downing Street on Sunday will see European leaders gear up efforts to police a future Ukraine peace deal.

The Prime Minister believes a deal will have to involve US military assets providing surveillance, intelligence and potentially warplanes giving air cover to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching another bid to conquer his neighbour.

But hopes for unity between European nations and the US on Ukraine’s future were shattered by the Friday clash between Trump and Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president is believed to have landed in the UK ahead of a summit of European leaders hosted by Sir Keir Starmer today.

In another blow to Ukraine, Moscow on Saturday said it had seized two more villages in the east of the country as Kyiv officials said Russian strikes had killed one person and wounded 19.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured Sudne and Burlatske in the south of the eastern Donetsk region.

They lie near the town of Velyka Novossilka which was seized by the Russian army at the end of January.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 154 drones overnight, of which 103 were downed and 51 disappeared from the radar without causing damage or casualties.

Volodymyr Zelensky has defended his decision not to wear a suit in the Oval Office after the move was branded ‘disrespectful’ by a White House reporter during his meeting with Donald Trump.

In a fiery exchange, Brian Glenn, Chief White House Correspondent for Real America’s Voice, asked Zelensky: ‘Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, why don’t you wear a suit?’

Responding to the criticism, the Ukrainian leader, who is often seen wearing casual combat clothes since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, said he faced more pressing problems with the war in Europe.

He added that he ‘will wear a suit after this war will finish’ and it would be ‘maybe something like yours, maybe something better’.

After yesterday’s furious meeting, President Trump released a statement accusing Ukraine of ‘disrespecting’ America.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social he said: ‘We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.

‘It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.

‘I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.’

The tense war of words played out inside the Oval Office Friday and quickly went off the rails when Trump took offense of how Zelensky treated his vice president JD Vance in front of the cameras.

Zelensky, speaking to Fox News, was asked point blank if he owed Trump an apology and twice filibustered before refusing and instead attempting to be gracious and added ‘I’m not sure we did something bad.’

‘We’re thankful to Americans for all your support, you did a lot, I’m thankful to President Trump and Congress’ bipartisan support,’ Zelensky said.

‘You helped us a lot from the very beginning, you helped us to survive. We are strategic partners.’

The scenes in the White House on Friday delighted officials in Moscow who saw it as a final breakdown in relations between Washington and the Ukrainian leader.

But many Ukrainians seemed unfazed by the confrontation, saying the Ukrainian leader had stood up for their country’s dignity and interests by firmly maintaining his stance in the face of chiding from some of the world’s most powerful men.

Nataliia Serhiienko, 67, a retiree in Kyiv, said Ukrainians approve of their president’s performance in Washington, ‘because Zelensky fought like a lion’.

‘They had a heated meeting, a very heated conversation,’ she said, but Mr Zelensky ‘was defending Ukraine’s interests.’

Kyiv resident Artem Vasyliev, 37, added he had seen ‘complete disrespect’ from the US in the Oval Office exchange, despite the fact that Ukraine ‘was the first country that stood up to Russia’.

‘We are striving for democracy, and we are met with total disrespect, towards our warriors, our soldiers and the people of our country,’ said Mr Vasyliev, a native of Russian-occupied Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

As Friday’s White House meeting degenerated, Vance asked Zelensky: ‘Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire time… in this entire meeting?’

A planned press conference with Trump and Zelensky was then cancelled and Zelensky was asked to leave.

Despite the clash, Zelensky later told Fox News he believed that ‘of course’ relations with the US could be repaired.

But he refused to apologise, saying: ‘I’m not sure that we did something bad.’

He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later on CNN called for Zelensky to ‘apologise for wasting our time.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked dozens of allies on social media on Saturday, a day after US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused him of not being sufficiently grateful.

Zelensky on X wrote the words ‘Thank you for your support’ in individual replies to around 30 messages of support from European leaders after his heated clash with the new US administration in the White House.

Despite the confrontation, Zelensky earlier thanked Trump, the US Congress and the American people for their support and for his visit.

‘Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,’ he wrote.

Marco Rubio said that Volodymyr Zelensky should apologize to Donald Trump and cast doubts on whether the Ukrainian president really wants peace after their disaster meeting.

The tense war of words played out inside the Oval Office Friday and quickly went off the rails when Trump took offense of how Zelensky treated his vice president JD Vance in front of the cameras.

In an effort to shift the blame away from Trump and Vance, whose aggression has provoked an international outcry in many of the US’s closest allies, the Secretary of State hinted that Zelensky owes the president an apology and found his behavior leading up to the Oval Office blowout unacceptable.

‘You guys only saw the end, you don’t see all the things that led up to this. The president’s been very clear on this, he campaigned on this. He thinks this war should have never started and I agree that had he been president it never would have happened,’ Rubio stated.

‘Now here we are, he’s trying to bring an end to this conflict, we’ve explained very clearly what our plan is here: we want to get the Russians to a negotiating table, we want to explore whether peace is possible,’ he added.

The extraordinary Oval Office scene on Friday saw the years-long US policy of massive support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion collapse in a shouting match.

The row saw European leaders scramble to voice support for Ukraine after Zelensky was made to leave the White House early and without signing a minerals-sharing deal seen as vital to an eventual US-brokered truce.

During the clash, played out in front of US and international media, Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being ‘thankful’ and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

‘You don’t have the cards right now,’ Trump said. ‘You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.’

Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that ‘he can come back when he is ready for peace.’

US media reported that Zelensky had been told to leave by senior Trump officials.

Good morning, and welcome to MailOnline’s live blog on the latest updates following President Trump and President Zelensky’s furious bust-up at the White House on Friday.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the day.