James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

The spilling over we saw in the
Oval Office today reflected what’s at stake for Zelensky and his
country.

This is not
just about minerals or money; it’s about making sure three years of bloody
fighting hasn’t been for nothing. It’s about the future existence of Ukraine in
the face of an existential war.

Should
he have stayed calmer? Perhaps, but Ukraine’s leader wears this war, it is part
of his political being. Clearly this mineral proposal was not as enticing for
Kyiv as Washington made out.

Ukrainians
feel any ceasefire – without a guarantee from the US that it would step in if
war reignited – would not be worth the paper it was written on.

The
worrying signs were there when Zelensky folded his arms in a defensive way as
he came under an almost coordinated shouting assault from US president and
vice-president.

That is a
worrying symptom of a White House not really fixating on the realities of the
war and the cost Ukraine has paid, especially when Zelensky had to remind Trump
of the year it started.

Such a visible deterioration
between two allies has been a difficult and shocking sight here. Donald Trump
could yet come to Ukraine’s aid, or today could have been the moment he cut
ties with it, to Russia’s delight.