Miracle how Trump refrained from hitting Zelenskyy: Russia on verbal spat

In an unprecedented — and unabashedly gleeful — breach of diplomatic protocol, Russia has said it was a "miracle" that US President Donald Trump restrained himself from hitting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their verbal clash in the White House's Oval Office, as a Russian spokesperson mocked the Ukrainian leader after the bizarre showdown.

During an intense meeting on Friday, 28 February, Trump snapped at Zelenskyy, accusing him of “risking millions of lives” and warning that his actions might lead to World War III. Of course, he glossed over the fact that Russia was the primary aggressor, with its tanks rolling into Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

In response, Zelenskyy abruptly departed the White House without signing a crucial minerals agreement with the US, which Trump had insisted upon and implied was a prerequisite for continued support to Ukraine.

Reacting to their spat, Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram on Friday that Zelenskyy's biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support.

"How Trump and (vice-president J.D.) Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint," she said.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also reacted to the incident, calling Zelenskyy an "insolent pig" who had received "a proper slap down in the Oval Office", using language more commonly used during a bar brawl, to give just one example.

"For the first time, Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: the Kyiv regime is gambling with World War III...That's a good thing, but not enough — we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine," Medvedev, who is now deputy head of Russia's Security Council, wrote.

During his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Vance hit back at Zelenskyy by saying, "I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media... you should be thanking the President for trying to bring you into this conference.”

After departing the Oval Office, Zelenskyy said in a post on X, “Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that”, though he refused to apologise to Trump.

With PTI inputs