A Ukrainian soldier said he felt insulted by Donald Trump and JD Vance’s comments during their fiery meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukrainian army drone pilot Dimko Zhluktenko said he and his comrades were offended as the US President accused Mr Zelensky of not being grateful enough for US military aid.
The clash in the White House saw Mr Trump tell the Ukrainian President he is “gambling with World War Three”, while Mr Vance accused him of being “disrespectful”. But the Ukrainian soldier praised his president for representing his country’s interests and not being a “puppet of the United States”. The 26-year-old soldier said: “I think the main thing was it was just insulting for us to look at how it developed and how the discussion had no substance.
“They were not discussing the peace deal or the mineral deal, they only started to mock Zelensky for not wearing a suit or for not being thankful enough.
“We take it personally because through him, they insulted us too.”
He added that his president showed character and showed that “we are not some puppet of the United States or anything”.
Mr Zhluktenko, a software engineer from Lviv in western Ukraine, was travelling the world as a digital nomad with his wife when Russia launched its full scale invasion in February 2022.
He joined Ukraine’s specialist drone warfare branch last year and believes he and his comrades won’t stop fighting.
He said: “I fight for my friends and family who got killed in action by Russia.
“I lost many friends this year. I also lost my uncle in combat near Pokrovsk.
“I have also visited many of my friends at the military cemetery in Lviv. It’s so unfair.
“No matter what, we will keep fighting because, well, the motivation for this is that if we do not keep the fight going on, then it’s going to be our cities will get destroyed.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Mr Zelensky to Number 10 on Saturday, telling him the UK stands with Ukraine “for as long as it may take”.
While at Downing Street, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and her Ukrainian counterpart signed a £2.26bn loan agreement to support Kyiv’s military and the costs of rebuilding after the war.
It is expected the loan will be repaid with the profits from frozen Russian assets.
