The White House row has left Putin holding the trump card

Russia's glee over how Trump and Vance treated Zelensky is valid

- ANDREAS KLUTH

U.S. President Donald Trump and his vice-president, J.D. Vance, are spinning Friday's Oval Office clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a show of American strength towards an ungrateful supplicant. However, their joint dressing down of Zelensky will go down in history and live in infamy as a shameful moment of American betrayal.

Trump and Vance berated the leader of a nation that's been fighting for its existence for three years. "Have you said 'thank you' once?" Vance asked Zelensky. In fact, Zelensky has thanked the U.S., as well as Trump, several times since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war of aggression against Ukraine, and he did so again after the meeting. It's just that Zelensky always adds that he needs even more support for his country to survive, and more security guarantees in any future peace negotiations to deter Putin. As Zelensky pointed out during the meeting, Putin has broken previous ceasefires.