Photo by Trong Khiem Nguyen via Creative Commons
On the 28 February 2025, US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance hosted Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, with intentions to finalise a minerals deposit deal that would allow the US access to the wealth of key minerals found in Ukraine. The meeting quickly led to a fiery showdown, with Trump, Vance, and reporters attacking Zelenskyy’s character, clothing choices, as well as his response to the Russian invasion.
Why does the US want a minerals deposit deal with Ukraine?
Minerals are essential for the advancement and creation of new technologies and commodities, including but not limited to mobile phones, computers, automotive components, paints, and various types of plastics. Given the significant profits generated by US multinational corporations, maintaining a steady flow of mineral imports is crucial for the stability of the American economy. According to the US Geological Survey’s 2025 Mineral Commodities Report, Canada and China are two of the US’ largest primary mineral import sources. However, this may not be true in the foreseeable future: Trump has recently imposed a 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports, along with a 20% tariff on all Chinese goods. He has also ordered a 25% tariff on all Mexican goods, and a 25% tariff on all other Canadian goods.
A minerals deposit deal with Ukraine would reduce American dependency on Chinese imports. Within the past two years, China has imposed mineral export bans on the US, despite their extensive supply of minerals – China ‘controls 75% of rare earth deposits in the world, according to the Geological Investment Group.’ While a minerals deposit deal with Ukraine would benefit Trump, it is unclear whether the deal will help Ukraine acquire a ‘firm security guarantee from the US.’ Ukrainian media published a version of the minerals deposit deal before the Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, although the terms of the deal have not yet been finalised and could change from a previous version.’
Key moments from the Showdown
Trump began his meeting-turned-showdown with Zelenskyy by thanking the Ukrainian president for his attendance, as well as briefly discussing the minerals deposit negotiations. Soon after, Trump was quick to mention his recent conversation with Vladmir Putin, noting that he “had some very good discussions with Russia… I spoke with President Putin, and we’re going to try and bring this [Russian invasion of Ukraine] to a close, as something that you want, and he wants.” Trump opened the conversation to Zelenskyy, who noted the significance of US support in stopping Putin. Zelenskyy explained to Trump that he “really count(s) on your strong position to stop Putin, and you said enough with the war. I think that is very important, to say these words to Putin at the very beginning.” Zelenskyy then proceeded to identify Putin as a ‘killer and terrorist’, and elaborated on his hopes for the future of Ukraine: “to save our country, our values, our freedom and democracy, and of course, no compromises with a killer about our territories.”
Trump is infamous for his relations with Putin, which can be traced back to his first administration; he was investigated by both the Department of Justice and Congress. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report found that Trump’s first campaign for president was indeed influenced by Russian interference. Given Trump’s lengthy history with Putin, his and Vance’s aggressive, berating remarks towards Zelenskyy is not much of a shock.
Vance was prepared to target Zelenskyy, questioning how he has addressed Ukraine’s military and their conscription programme. In his response, Zelenskyy stated the following: “During the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have a nice ocean and don’t feel [it] now, but you will feel it in the future.” Trump immediately came to Vance’s defence, telling Zelenskyy not to “tell us what we’re going to feel. You’re in no position to dictate that.” This altercation would set the tone for the remainder of the showdown.
Trump and Vance continued to criticise Zelenskyy, accusing the Ukrainian president multiple times of not being grateful enough for US support. Vance asked Zelenskyy, “Have you even said thank you once?”, and later demanded that Zelenskyy “Just say thank you.” When Zelenskyy stated that his country has been ‘alone’ throughout the invasion, Trump clapped back, slamming ex-president Joe Biden in his response: “You haven’t been alone. You haven’t been alone. We gave you – through this stupid president – $350bn.” In response to Zelenskyy’s ‘ungrateful’ attitude, Trump accused him of ‘gambling with World War Three.’ Brian Glenn, a chief White House correspondent, even commented on Zelenskyy’s clothing choices, questioning why he did not wear a suit. Glenn claimed that “A lot of Americans have problems with you [Zelenskyy] not respecting the dignity of this office.”
What is next?
The tense Trump-Zelenskyy showdown ended in Zelenskyy being asked to leave the Oval Office. No minerals deposit agreement was signed, and just three days after their meeting, Trump paused all American assistance to Ukraine. Since the showdown, EU member states have shown unwavering support for Zelenskyy, agreeing on a defence spending plan to support Ukraine. That being said, EU leaders also emphasised that US support is crucial to put an end to the Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy is now attempting to amend ties with the US, even without a guaranteed security deal. Following the showdown, Zelenskyy spoke in Kyiv and wrote a conciliatory letter to Trump. Both the speech and letter indicated that Zelenskyy has no other option than to cooperate with Trump, stating that it was “time to make things right.”
On 11 March 2025, Zelenskyy is due to meet with US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in Saudi Arabia to further discuss US-Ukraine negotiations. Regarding the follow-up meeting, Trump noted that “We’re going to make a lot of progress, I believe, this week.”