According to sources close to Zelenskyy, tempers had flared even before the event began. The Ukrainian president was apparently presented with a minerals for security agreement by the Trump administration prior to the press event, but the deal included no security guarantees to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy had warned repeatedly ahead of his trip to Washington, D.C., that, in order to reach a mineral agreement, Kyiv needed these security assurances. Even so, he angered Trump and Vance by rejecting the deal, the source said.