Trump warns Zelensky if 'Putin wants it, he’ll destroy you' in latest White House blowup: Report

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump allegedly tore into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a three-hour, closed-door meeting at the White House on Friday, October 17, warning him that Russian leader Vladimir Putin could “destroy” Ukraine if he wanted to.

The meeting was held just a day after Trump’s private call with Putin. What started as a tense sit-down turned into a full-blown “shouting match” with Trump reportedly “cursing all the time,” insiders told The Financial Times.

Trump reportedly pushed Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region to Russia

“During Friday’s meeting, Trump appeared to have adopted many of Putin’s talking points verbatim, even when they contradicted his own recent statements about Russia’s weaknesses, said European officials briefed on the meeting,” according to the report.

One of the biggest sticking points was Donbas. Sources said Trump pushed Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region to Russia, mirroring a proposal Putin allegedly floated during their White House call the day before.

Putin reportedly told Trump that he’d “forfeit some small areas of the two southern frontline regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia” if Ukraine gave up Donbas.

Officials said Trump dismissed maps of the Ukrainian frontlines during the meeting, tossing them aside and telling Zelensky that Putin had described the brutal conflict as “a special operation, not even a war.”

“If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you,” Trump warned, according to one European official familiar with the exchange.

At one point, the commander-in-chief apparently flung his maps to the side and groaned, “This red line, I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there.” Trump reportedly told Zelensky he was “sick” of seeing the map of the frontlines, fuming over the endless fighting. 

Zelensky leaves empty-handed

By the end of the session, sources told FT that “Zelensky was very negative.” His goal for the meeting had been to score powerful Tomahawk missiles that could reach deep into Russian territory via remote launch from Kyiv. Instead, he got an earful.

Sources said Trump urged both sides to stop fighting and freeze the war where things stood.

“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts. They should stop where they are,” Trump later wrote on Truth Social, posting just hours after the alleged White House showdown. “Let both claim Victory, let History decide! No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent.”

Zelensky tried to keep it diplomatic in public. “I agree with the president — yes, both sides must stop," he told reporters. "But between us, it’s about Putin, because we didn’t begin this war.”

Despite not acquiring the Tomahawks, Zelensky tried to see the silver lining. “For today, it’s good again that he didn’t say no,” he told NBC’s 'Meet the Press', suggesting the door wasn’t entirely closed.

“The Tomahawks, it’s very sensitive for Russians,” Zelensky said. “I think that Putin [is] afraid that [the] United States will deliver us Tomahawks. And I think that he’s really afraid that we will use [them].”

Trading drones for missiles?

Even as the meeting went sideways, Zelensky reportedly tried offering Ukrainian drone technology in exchange for American weapons.

Trump actually acknowledged that Washington and Kyiv had been discussing the idea. “They make a very good drone," he told reporters.

But on Fox News two days later, Trump made it clear he wasn’t eager to hand over any firepower. Chatting with Maria Bartiromo, he said Putin was “going to take something” from Ukraine anyway. “I mean they fought — he has a lot of property… he’s won certain property,” Trump remarked.

When Bartiromo pressed him on whether he’d send Tomahawks to Ukraine, Trump wouldn't commit.

“We need them for ourselves, too,” he told her.

Meanwhile, European officials reportedly told FT they were “not optimistic but pragmatic with planning next steps.”