During his visit to the White House in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was planning to give his US counterpart Donald Trump a nice little gift -- the championship belt of current world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk.
However, things did not go quite as planned. The championship belt was placed on a table on Zelenskyy's right-hand side while Trump was seated on his left. However, instead of presenting the goodwill gift, the Ukrainian leader took out a folder. He then showed Trump disturbing images of Ukrainian prisoners of war who were released. Reacting to the gory images, Trump said, "That's tough stuff".
WATCH IN FULL: All 46 minutes of the Oval Office meeting between President Donald J. Trump and President Zelenskyy pic.twitter.com/L88QejnhRA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 28, 2025
Now, US officials anonymously have told the Time Magazine that the meeting went awry because of these graphic images. It gave Trump an impression that Zelenskyy was blaming him for the torture meted out to the Ukrainian soldiers.
Speaking to the Time Magazine, the Ukrainian leader said he did not intend to blame the US. However, Zelenskyy maintained that he does not regret showing the images to his US counterpart, adding that he wanted to connect with Trump on a human level.
🇺🇦🇺🇸 Time: The photos of the prisoners of war alarmed Trump, as if he was being blamed for the suffering of those soldiers.
— MAKS 24 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) March 24, 2025
However, even today, Zelensky does not regret his decision to present these photos. He tried to go beyond Trump's transactional instincts, beyond his need… pic.twitter.com/VfkF6UHeqE
Following the Oval Office showdown, Trump left the room, saying, "This is going to be great television."
Later, a staffer at the White House took away the belt and kept it in Trump's dining room where gifts from world leaders are displayed.
Trump then cancelled the signing ceremony and called off a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president. Trump turned down Ukrainian side's request for a one-on-one meeting with the president, following which Zelenskyy and his team were asked to exit the White House.
