During a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova appeared distraught with her head in her hand.
The moment was captured in a number of viral photos and videos as Trump questioned Zelenskyy about not wanting a ceasefire with Russia at a live White House press event.
As shaky microphones hovered above the spatting leaders, Markarova lowered her head to her right hand and closed her eyes.
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President Trump addressed Zelenskyy, saying, “You’re saying you don’t want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire because you get a ceasefire faster than an agreement.”
The Ukrainian president chimed in, “I said to you … with guarantees. Ask our people about [a] ceasefire, [about] what they think.”
Trump starkly halted the conversation, saying “that wasn’t with me.”
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The leaders were expected to sign a deal sharing Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and discuss a peace deal with Russia when the conversation turned contentious.
After questions were posed by Zelenskyy about diplomacy, Vice President JD Vance reprimanded him for “try[ing] to litigate” in front of the American media, calling his actions “disrespectful.”
“Do you think that it’s respectful to come into the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country,” Vance asked Zelenskyy.
Sources close to Zelenskyy noted tensions were high prior to the meeting, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Zelenskyy reportedly rejected the mineral security agreement before Friday’s meeting due to the absence of security guarantees protecting Ukraine from another Russian invasion.
Even though the Ukrainian president warned he would need those assurances to sign the deal, sources said the dismissal angered Trump and Vance.
Just minutes after reporters asked their first questions, the heated disagreement unfolded.
Reporters watched in shock as the meeting came to an abrupt halt, and Zelenskyy was rushed out of the White House.
Minutes later, Trump posted to Truth Social, saying, “President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE.”
Zelenskyy subsequently posted to X, thanking America and Trump for their support and allowing the visit.
“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote in the post.
Markarova was ambassador for roughly a year when Russia invaded Ukraine, thrusting her into the spotlight.
In September, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a letter to Zelenskyy seeking Markarova’s firing after she allegedly organized a U.S. taxpayer-funded tour of an American manufacturing site for Zelenskyy in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Johnson, R-La., said the tour “purposely excluded” Republicans, calling it “election interference.”
“The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris and failed to include a single Republican because — on purpose — no Republicans were invited,” Johnson wrote in the letter.
He said the “shortsighted and intentionally political move” prompted Republicans to “lose trust” in Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat.
“She should be removed from her post immediately,” Johnson wrote.
The Embassy of Ukraine to the United States of America did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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