Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky greets US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, February 12, 2025 (Tetiana Dzhefarova/AFP/Getty)
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: A “Desperate” Kremlin Amid Gasoline Shortages and Crimea’s Isolation
Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky Warns Belarus Over Support of Russia’s Drone Attacks
UPDATE 0657 GMT:
At least five civilians were murdered and 12 injured by Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia city in southern Ukraine on Saturday.
Russian forces launched nine glide bombs. The victims include a woman whose body was pulled from beneath the rubble of a destroyed home.
“Russia is a terrorist state,” said Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov.
UPDATE 0653 GMT:
Ukraine’s military struck fuel transit terminals and port infrastructure on both sides of the 21-mile Kerch Strait between southwest Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight.
Photos and videos on social media show a fire and thick smoke at an oil and liquefied gas terminal in Kerch in Crimea.
On the other side of the Strait, a large fire was reported at the Kavkaz port on the Chushka Spit in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. The site is a major logistics hub, hosting a fuel terminal and oil depot.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: In latest revelation of the Trump Administration’s insults and belittling of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advised Donald Trump not to host the “little fucker” in the Oval Office.
In the incident soon after Trump returned to office in January 2025, Bessent called Zelensky a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”.
In a meeting in Kyiv on February 12, discussing the US attempt to get rare earth minerals from Ukraine, Bessent demanded that Zelensky sign the document confirming the arrangement. A “very angry” President refused in what became a 45-minute shouting match. Bessent snapped, “What the fuck do you want to do?”
Bessent then told Trump that, before he stepped foot in the White House, Zelensky should accede to the US demands. The Ukrainian President went to the White House on February 28 to confirm the deal, but was ambushed by Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump.
Several Trump advisors anticipated the verbal attack. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said “Zelensky should come wearing a suit”.
After the ambush, Bessent said in interviews that Zelensky had scored “one of the great diplomatic own goals”:
I was shocked, shocked that President Zelensky walked into the Oval Office and behaved like that, spoke to the President and the Vice President that way, but most of all he showed disrespect to the American people.
Against the background of Trump’s admiration of Vladimir Putin, European leaders intervened to prevent a complete cut-off of US support for Ukraine’s resistance of Russia’s invasion.
Trump 1Is mates with putin when what he should be doing is backing Ukraine to the hilt what a bloody discrete he is trump shoud get some real balls ukrain is hurting Russia good on him and as for the vis president. He is nothing more than an asswipe he should show the president of UKRAIN SOME REAL RESPECT ITS RUSSA THAT WONT SIGN A PEASE DEAL ALL RISE TO UKRAIN A MAN THAT STANDE UP AGAINST THE REDS KEAP IT UP BOYS