When Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on Friday last week, he was hoping to sign a minerals deal giving the US a real stake in his country’s future.

However, the meeting, which was set with the best of intentions, soon descended into a tense spat between the premiers of both countries. Zelensky was verbally strongarmed by both Trump and Vance in front of the entire world’s media as they asked him to be more appreciative of the US support he had been receiving ever since the war broke out between Ukraine and Russia.

As I saw the scene unfold, I had a lot of respect for Zelensky, who despite the raised voices and verbal onslaught from two of the world’s most powerful men held his calm and did not back down. He did not immediately fold and agree with President Trump and Vance, instead he held his own.

As I watched the Ukrainian president sitting there and trying to respectfully disagree with what was being said to him, I felt not only respect for him but also sympathy. There sat a man whose country has been ravaged by war since 2022, looking for help to fend off a much bigger power on the other side. Instead of the compassion and help he thought he might get, he was publicly humiliated for all of the world to see.

President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance both insisted that Zelensky needs to work harder towards a ceasefire deal with Vladimir Putin. When he disagreed with them, he was labelled as disrespectful. The message I got from this is that either you agree with the American premier or suffer the consequences of getting a verbal lashing.

I understand the United States has reservations about the mammoth amount of funding they have been giving Ukraine since the war began, but the idea of Putin watching as his adversary was given a verbal lashing in the Oval Office and finding a psychological edge in that has been horrifying to imagine.

A war is not just a physical fight, but there are a lot of psychological aspects of it. Russia already knows they are powerful both in manpower, resources, and size. Ukraine had US support on her side, but now when the world has seen the US humiliate their premier, that edge has in a way been tainted. For Russia this is a big win because they have discovered another weakness in Ukraine’s armor. One that they will undoubtedly use against them in the war.