\n<\/p>\n
For months leading into the American elections last fall, the prospect of a second Trump presidency deepened uncertainty among Ukrainians over how enduring American support would prove in a war threatening their national survival.<\/p>\n
After President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s disastrous meeting<\/a> with President Trump in the White House on Friday, many Ukrainians were moving toward a conclusion that seemed perfectly clear: Mr. Trump has chosen a side, and it is not Ukraine\u2019s.<\/p>\n In one jaw-dropping meeting, the once unthinkable fear that Ukraine would be forced to engage in a long war against a stronger opponent without U.S. support appeared to move exponentially closer to reality.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Ukraine, it is clarifying, though not in a great way,\u201d Phillips O\u2019Brien, an international relations professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said in an interview. \u201cUkraine can now only count on European states for the support it needs to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n An immediate result was that Ukrainians, including opposition politicians, were generally supportive of Mr. Zelensky on Saturday for not bending to Mr. Trump despite tremendous pressure.<\/p>\n Maryna Schomak, a civilian whose son\u2019s cancer diagnosis has been complicated by the destruction of Ukraine\u2019s largest children\u2019s cancer hospital by a Russian missile strike, said that Mr. Zelensky had conducted himself with dignity.<\/p>\n \u201cThey gathered with one goal \u2014 to pressure us and undermine our authority on the global political stage,\u201d she said of Mr. Trump and his team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Zelensky signaled on Saturday that he had not completely given up hope of repairing the relationship with Mr. Trump. Posting on social media<\/a>, he went out of his way to thank the United States, perhaps trying to address Mr. Trump\u2019s complaint on Friday that he was ungrateful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cUkrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Mr. Zelensky began laying the groundwork for moving ahead with the European countries that have stood by Kyiv\u2019s side. Ukraine announced plans on Saturday for a joint weapons venture with France that would be financed by the interest earned from frozen Russian assets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Later in the day, Mr. Zelensky was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, who has been a supporter of the Ukrainian president in the face of Mr. Trump\u2019s harsh rebukes. On Sunday, Mr. Zelensky will attend a summit of European leaders hosted by Mr. Starmer.<\/p>\n While much of the focus was on the shocking tone and theatrics of the dressing-down delivered by the American president to a putative ally, Professor O\u2019Brien, the St. Andrew\u2019s scholar, said that Mr. Trump\u2019s comments suggested that the root of the public rupture ran deeper.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was trying to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to a cease-fire along Putin\u2019s lines, and Zelensky refused,\u201d Professor O\u2019Brien said, referring to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. \u201cTrump comes out and says that explicitly at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Trump had shouted at the Ukrainian leader, \u201cYou\u2019re buried there,\u201d and said, \u201cYour people are dying. You\u2019re running low on soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n As Mr. Zelensky tried to defend himself, Mr. Trump talked over him.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, listen,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd then you tell us, \u2018I don\u2019t want a cease-fire. I don\u2019t want a cease-fire.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The exchange, Professor O\u2019Brien said, reflects Mr. Trump\u2019s belief that \u201cUkraine should shut up and take Trump\u2019s and Putin\u2019s terms.\u201d<\/p>\n The real affront that prompted the spectacle, many Ukrainians and analysts believe, is that Mr. Zelensky pushed back against some of Mr. Trump\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Along the front lines, some soldiers said that the realization was sinking in that Mr. Trump would probably not help Ukraine. \u201cTrump chose his side in this war,\u201d said Pvt. Serhiy Hnezdilov in a telephone interview from the front on Saturday.<\/p>\n Private Hnezdilov said that he supported Mr. Zelensky\u2019s stance, adding that he thought the attempt to humiliate the Ukrainian leader was probably the goal of the invitation to the White House.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scandal we witnessed was essentially the only purpose of that meeting,\u201d the private said. \u201cIt looked utterly absurd, considering that we, Ukrainians, have always regarded America as an example of democracy and, most importantly, of values.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukrainians may have been na\u00efve, he added.<\/p>\n Still, many Ukrainians were shaken by the public falling-out in Washington, and Mr. Zelensky sought to reassure his war-weary nation on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople in Ukraine need to know they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country and every corner of the world,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Leaders across Europe took to social media to voice support of Ukraine<\/a>, and Mr. Zelensky offered his personal thanks for every statement while reposting them.<\/p>\n But Mr. Zelensky did acknowledge that losing U.S. military support would be a devastating blow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be difficult for us,\u201d he told Fox News after the White House meeting. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Zelensky\u2019s domestic standing appeared to be holding steady in the immediate aftermath of the meeting, despite a statement by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, calling for Mr. Zelensky to resign or be dismissed. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we can ever do business\u201d Mr. Graham said, only days after praising the Ukrainian leader as an ideal ally.<\/p>\n Mr. Zelensky received a public signal of support from the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, who would assume the presidency if Mr. Zelensky resigned. \u201cFull support for the President of Ukraine!\u201d Mr. Stefanchuk wrote in a social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Opposition figures also backed Mr. Zelensky.<\/p>\n \u201cThough I do not fully agree with President Zelensky\u2019s policies, I must say that I am genuinely grateful to him for withstanding this pressure,\u201d Natalia Pipa, a member of Parliament for the Holos party, said in an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump behaved disgustingly and condescendingly,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n The path ahead for Ukraine, politicians and analysts said, was to try to repair relations with the United States, where defense contractors are one constituency with an interest in continuing American support, while trying to shore up European backing. Mr. Zelensky will also be trying to get a role in the negotiations for a peace settlement, though Mr. Trump seems intent on dealing directly with Mr. Putin.<\/p>\n But the anger directed at Mr. Zelensky<\/a> in the Oval Office came against a tense backdrop in which Mr. Trump has increasingly aligned himself with the Kremlin<\/a> in both words and actions.<\/p>\n Since Mr. Trump picked up the phone on Feb. 12 for a 90-minute chat with Mr. Putin<\/a>, he has called Mr. Zelensky \u201ca dictator\u201d; falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war; and pressed the Ukrainian leader to accede to his administration\u2019s demands<\/a>, posting that he \u201cbetter move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, the State Department terminated an initiative that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine\u2019s energy grid after attacks by the Russian military.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While pressuring Kyiv, Mr. Trump has said that he would \u201clove\u201d to see Russia back in the Group of 7 \u2014 a gathering of the world\u2019s wealthiest large democracies \u2014 and that \u201cit was a mistake to throw them out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He offered Mr. Putin generous concessions on NATO and Ukrainian territory even before the talks started, and repeated the Kremlin\u2019s calls for elections in Ukraine.<\/p>\n The White House has also cut funding for pro-democracy programs as part of its efforts to dismantle U.S.A.I.D., a move celebrated by the Kremlin.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has also offered public support for far-right parties<\/a> in Europe known for their support of Moscow, including the AfD in Germany.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, has also disbanded an F.B.I. task force<\/a> focused on investigating foreign influence operations, and the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has ordered that Russia be removed as a target of U.S. cybersecurity planning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Washington also sided with Moscow in a vote at the United Nations that would have condemned Russian aggression on the third anniversary of the Ukraine invasion \u2014 breaking with allies to join a small group of nations including North Korea and Belarus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Having endured years of loss and suffering, Ukrainians would like nothing more than to see an end to the war, but not if the price is their freedom, Mr. Zelensky has been insisting.<\/p>\n Natalka Sosnytska, program coordinator at a Ukrainian organization that helps children with war trauma, echoed that sentiment. \u201cOf course, we want peace, but only after our victory,\u201d she said. \u201cBy standing his ground, Zelensky preserved our dignity as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Liubov Sholudko and Yurii Shyvala contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n