War and peace Anatomy of the Oval Office meltdown

Inside the Trump White House, officials blamed the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for the meltdown in the Oval Office last Friday, and expressed frustration that he pushed for security guarantees even though the US had made clear they wanted to negotiate that later.

- Hugo Lowell

The officials had told their Ukrainian counterparts in advance of the meeting that Trump wanted to sign an economic partnership this week at a ministerial level, as aides worked on the details about security guarantees.

Trump saw the minerals deal as the first phase of a broader economic partnership and told aides it showed the US was effectively making a commitment on security guarantees, because the agreement deal would mean the US had a vested interest in Ukraine's economic prosperity.

The officials believed that had all been communicated to Ukraine, as was the advice that senators gave Zelenskyy to praise Trump and not litigate the issue of wanting stronger security guarantees to his face.