Curses, discarded frontline maps, and a Donald Trump who allegedly repeated the Kremlin's line word for word . As the hours passed, Friday's face-to-face meeting between the American president and Volodymyr Zelensky increasingly took on the character of a "furious argument," punctuated by accusations, threats, and ultimatum-like tones.

According to revelations by the Financial Times, the White House resident allegedly urged the Ukrainian leader to accept Vladimir Putin's conditions, warning him that otherwise Russia would "destroy" Ukraine . This reconstruction is echoed in the tsar's repeated demand to Trump—and revealed by the Washington Post—for "full control" of Donbass , casting the long shadow of a capitulation imposed from above over the Budapest summit.

A concession Zelensky refuses to accept, even though he says he's "ready" to travel to Hungary to initiate a dialogue: "How can we reach agreements if we don't talk?" he told NBC. Having returned from Washington without the much-needed Tomahawk missiles (long-range missiles that would allow a deep strike into Russia) , the Ukrainian leader showed no signs of giving in: no "reward" for the aggressor.

"Putin can't be stopped with words: pressure is necessary," he warned, rallying the Willing and urging "decisive steps" from the United States, Europe, the G20, and the G7. For Kiev, the possibility of territorial concessions is merely confirmation of a familiar pattern: prolong the conflict, wear down Europe, and weaken resistance.

"We can't give all our weapons to Ukraine. We simply can't do that," Trump remarked on Fox News, claiming he had been "very good to Zelensky and Ukraine" but couldn't "put America in danger."

Reports of the White House clash are shaking European governments, as if they were the most feared scenario back in August, on the eve of the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin: a surrender negotiated over their heads , or a partition disguised as a compromise. In Brussels, diplomats are working on a common position of support for Kiev ahead of the October 23 summit and the Budapest meeting, for which Moscow will have to request authorization from Eurocontrol in the hours before landing.

(Unioneonline)

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