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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to social media on Saturday to express gratitude to dozens of allies, following accusations from US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance that he had not been appreciative enough.
In a flurry of posts on X, Zelensky responded to around 30 messages of support from European leaders, writing “Thank you for your support” in individual replies. His social media outreach came a day after a heated exchange with the new US administration at the White House.
Despite the tense meeting, Zelensky had earlier thanked Trump, the US Congress, and the American people for their backing and for the opportunity to visit Washington.
“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also joined in, posting multiple messages of appreciation to European counterparts on Saturday.
The diplomatic spat erupted on Friday when, during a White House discussion, Vance reportedly asked Zelensky: “Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire time… in this entire meeting?” The conversation grew tense, leading to the cancellation of a planned joint press conference between Trump and Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader was then asked to leave.
Despite the awkward exchange, Zelensky later told Fox News he was optimistic about repairing ties with the US. However, he refused to apologise, stating, “I’m not sure that we did something bad.” He admitted he regretted that the incident had played out in front of the media.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later told CNN that Zelensky should “apologise for wasting our time.”
