People take part in a demonstration in support of Ukraine to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion and ongoing war, in Times Square in New York, 24 February 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE

The Trump administration has “privately made it clear” that it expects a public apology from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the verbal dressing down he was given in the Oval Office in front of the White House press corps on Friday, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

In an interview with Fox News after the confrontation on Friday, Zelensky declined to apologise to US President Donald Trump, saying that while he respected Trump and the American people, he felt that the position of Ukraine had to be made clear. “I’m not sure we did something bad,” he said, before expressing confidence that relations with the Trump administration could still be salvaged.

The tense exchange took place during a photo call at the White House on Friday afternoon when Zelensky asked US Vice President J.D. Vance “what kind of diplomacy” he thought was possible with Vladimir Putin, given that he had broken multiple ceasefire agreements reached since Russia illegally annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Vance responded by accusing Zelensky of being “disrespectful” and not thanking the US for its support, after which Trump raised his voice at the Ukrainian president, claiming he had “no cards” in peace negotiations and was “gambling with the lives of millions of people” and potentially risking the start of “World War III”. Zelensky was then asked to leave the White House.

Zelensky subsequently took to X to thank the United States, the US president, Congress and the American people, possibly in response to Vance accusing Zelensky of not being thankful enough during their explosive exchange at the White House. Zelensky continued to personally thank at least 40 officials and world leaders who came out in support of Ukraine over the next two days, including European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting a summit of world leaders in London on Sunday to reaffirm support for Kyiv amid an apparent shift in the transatlantic consensus on support for Ukraine. Macron told French newspaper La Tribune Dimanche on Saturday that the EU would consider increasing aid to Ukraine by “hundreds of billions of euros” during a summit planned for Thursday.