Russian invasion Voices about the Ukraine war

Analysis: Trump overturns the entire chessboard instead of moving the pieces

Media in Britain, Germany and France are flooded with analysis of the fight between Trump and Zelensky.

Europe's NATO countries are facing a crisis in their relations with the United States, writes the BBC's Jeremy Bowen. The big question now is whether the United States will stick to NATO's fifth article, which states that an attack on one NATO ally is an attack on all.

"The concerns are based on what appears to be Trump's determination to re-establish a strong relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin."

It must now be obvious to the countries of Europe that they must take the lead in supporting Ukraine, adds Ben Hall in the Financial Times.

In Germany, a new world is visible. “The law of the jungle prevails,” writes René Pfister in Der Spiegel. He believes that the country that has held the leadership position in the Western world can no longer be trusted – and Die Welt agrees.

“Now the free West needs a new leader,” writes Caroline Turzer.

In the French daily Libération, Julien Gester writes that Trump was merciless, that Zelensky is leaving empty-handed, that the Europeans are stunned but that the Russians are jubilant. Competing Le Figaro interviews Olivier Zajec, a professor of international relations, who believes that the scenes in the White House are changing the entire playing field.

“To appear as a peacemaker in Ukraine, Donald Trump wants to overturn the chessboard, not move the pieces,” he says.

"Europe put chips down its throats – the anxiety was justified"

The European leaders who witnessed Friday's crash in the White House on TV probably put Friday chips down their throats, writes SvD's Göran Eriksson. The row is just another sign that Europe's greatest anxiety right now is justified.

"They thought they were watching a horror film 'based on a true story', which seemed to confirm that the US is about to abandon the world order that has held Europe and the US together since the end of World War II."

JD Vance's lecture on Volodymyr Zelenskyj in the White House is psychologically interesting, writes DN's Björn af Kleen. The vice president is frustrated because Zelenskyj is not grateful and humble enough, because he does not kneel before Donald Trump. Vance is frustrated because he sees his old self in the Ukrainian president, says af Kleen.

“Before he took on the role of Trump's closest ally, Vance warned of Trump as a modern-day incarnation of Hitler [...] That's why he's so pissed off at Zelensky.”

Donald Trump ended the whole thing by saying that it was "good TV" anyway. The words have made many wonder whether the US's actions in the room were just a game for the galleries. Perhaps it was all a tactic that they believe will be useful in the negotiations, speculates SVT's Fouad Youcefi.

- We don't know. But what we do know is that this was historic.

Republicans split over the fight: "Bad day for the US"

The fight in the White House is splitting the Republican Party, writes The Hill. While Senator Lindsey Graham questions whether the US should even do business with Ukraine, House of Representatives member Don Bacon describes Friday as a "bad day for American foreign policy".

Ukraine wants independence and a free market – and to be part of the West, Bacon writes to the political website. Russia, on the other hand, “hates us and our Western values,” he continues.

“We should be clear in our support for freedom.”

Graham’s stance instead is that the Ukrainian president must either resign or send someone else to negotiate with the US.

I have never been so proud of Trump, Graham said after the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

“Putin can only sit back and watch the drama”

World leaders were quick to react to Friday’s drama in the White House. But one voice is missing, notes the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg. So far, there has been complete silence from Vladimir Putin. On the other hand, he can afford to just sit back and watch how events unfold, says Rosenberg.

“There is little doubt that Vladimir Putin enjoyed the dramatic spectacle when Volodymyr Zelensky, the leader of the country that Putin invaded, was berated by the US president and vice president in front of the world’s media.”

The Russian leader did not have to say anything either – Russian state media did it for him, writes Benjamin Quénelle in Le Monde. The journalists are indulging themselves, saying that Trump “rebuked the Ukrainian clown” in prime time.

“Moscow probably didn't ask for much: Donald Trump gave Volodymyr Zelensky the beating that Vladimir Putin would have liked to subject him to,” Quénelle writes.