Volodymyr Zelensky needs a lot of self-control when dealing with Donald Trump.Image: keystone
At the joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky, the US President, in addition to positive words for the joint talks, also caused a stir with a statement that, from a Ukrainian perspective, was cynical. Zelensky’s reaction to this is now going viral.
December 29, 2025, 04:07Dec 29, 2025, 04:22
After the largely fruitless but positive meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida, a video clip went viral.
This shows Zelenskyj’s reaction to a statement by the US President at the joint press conference in Trump’s private club Mar-a-Lago after the talks. The Ukrainian president initially reacts in disbelief at the words that just found their way into his ear and tilts his head to the side. Then he raises his eyebrow and smiles somewhat forcedly.
The scene:
(Watch with sound.)Video: watson/X
The background to the scene: Before the bilateral meeting, Trump spoke again on the phone with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. When asked about the content of the conversation, Trump, who many critics accuse of being close to Russia, said at the media conference:
“Russia wants Ukraine to be successful.”
Trump admitted: “It sounds a little strange.” Zelensky was visibly surprised and at least apparently amused by this assessment. Russia attacked the neighboring country in February 2022 and continues to regularly attack civilian facilities and the energy supply that is essential for the population, especially in winter – most recently at Christmas.
Zelenskyj received expressions of respect on social media for his reaction. The Russian government critic and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, for example, wrote on X:
«We are all Zelensky. But no one on earth has self-control.”
The X account of the magazine “Business Ukraine” said: “Zelenskyj deserves an award just for controlling himself at this point in the press conference.” Other social media users expressed similar sentiments and were impressed by Zelensky’s self-control over Trump’s statement.
At the end of February 2025, there was a scandal in the White House with a verbal exchange of blows after Trump infuriated Zelensky with Russia-friendly statements. Although the Ukrainian president understood his emotional outburst, critics complained that Zelensky had shown a lack of self-control and was thus making it more difficult for Ukrainian concerns to be taken into account in negotiations with the Americans.
(sda/dpa/con)
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