Russia’s Maria Zakharova and Dmitry Medvedev React to Trump-Zelensky Confrontation in the White House
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on Friday about the heated exchange between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their recent meeting at the White House. Zakharova praised Trump for showing “restraint,” suggesting it was remarkable that Trump and his associate, Vance, refrained from physically reacting to Zelensky’s remarks during their shouting match.
In a post on Telegram, Zakharova criticized Zelensky’s claims during the meeting, particularly his statement that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone and unsupported. “I think Zelensky’s biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support,” she wrote. She also expressed amazement that Trump and Vance managed to hold back from physically confronting Zelensky, calling their restraint a “miracle.”
Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, offered his own scathing opinion of Zelensky. Medvedev referred to Zelensky as an “insolent pig” and claimed the Ukrainian leader had received a “proper slap down in the Oval Office” following the confrontation.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, also weighed in, describing the intense moment between Trump and Zelensky as “historic.” Dmitriev had been involved in Moscow’s negotiations during the first Russian-American talks held on February 18 in Saudi Arabia, which marked the first such meeting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
