'The Russian media, which is almost exclusively controlled by Putin’s government, is having a field day'
Russia is loving the Oval Office spectacle that took place yesterday with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. However, there is one prominent Russian voice that has not been heard yet, that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, at the time of this writing, has yet to comment on the situation.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is a staunch defender of Putin, was delighted by what he called the "proper slap down" that Zelenskyy received at the hands of Trump and Vance. In the same post on X, Medvedev wrote that Trump was right about Ukraine "gambling with WWIII."
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said it was a "miracle" Trump and Vance stopped themselves from hitting Zelenskyy during the intense exchange.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as U.S. Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo)
UKRAINE AMBASSADOR'S REACTION TO FIERY TRUMP-ZELENSKYY OVAL OFFICE CLASH GOES VIRAL
It’s not just Russian leaders celebrating; members of the government-run media are also reveling in the fracas.
"The Russian media, which is almost exclusively controlled by Putin’s government, is having a field day with what happened today between Zelenskyy and President Trump and JD Vance," Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst, former senior official at the Defense Intelligence Agency and author of "Putin’s Playbook," told Fox News Digital.
"Rossiyskaya Gazeta," the Russian National Gazette, tore into Zelenskyy, with many headlines gloating about the leader’s spat with Trump and Vance, as well as his leaving the White House early, according to Koffler, who translated the headlines for Fox News Digital.
Additionally, Russian state TV commentator Vladimir Solovyov reportedly announced a special show focusing on "Zelenskyy’s suicide in the White House," according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
WORLD LEADERS BACK ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING TRUMP, VANCE OVAL OFFICE SPAT
After the tense Oval Office meeting, leaders from across the globe came out condemning Trump and Vance’s actions and showing their support for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently met with Trump in DC, expressed support for Ukraine in a post on X.
"There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago—and to keep doing so," Macron wrote. "By ‘we,’ I mean the Americans, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese, and many others."
While U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer has yet to comment publicly, the leader of the U.K. Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, spoke out in support of Ukraine, writing, "We need to remember that the villain is the war criminal President Putin who illegally invaded another sovereign country - Ukraine."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an ardent Trump critic, wrote, "Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace."
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv were clear before any words were exchanged in the Oval Office. On Feb. 19, President Trump called President Zelenskyy "a dictator without elections" in a post on Truth Social. However, when he was asked about his comment during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump appeared to back down saying, "Did I say that?"
The Trump administration’s approach to Kyiv wildly deviates from that of the Biden administration. Biden made his pro-Ukraine stance clear after the February 2022 invasion, despite suggesting in January 2022 that a "minor incursion" would result in lighter consequences. Trump, on the other hand, told the media minutes before the exchange that he would not take either Russia or Ukraine’s side. Rather, he was "not aligned with anybody. I'm aligned with the United States of America and for the good of the world."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves the White House after a heated meeting in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
In an exclusive interview with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier, Zelenskyy did not apologize for the heated exchange, but he acknowledged that it was "bad for both sides."
"I just want to be honest, and I just want our partners to understand the situation correctly, and I want to understand everything correctly. That's about us not to lose our friendship," Zelenskyy said on "Special Report."