By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor, from Ukraine

The fiery and very public bust-up between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a disaster for Ukraine and its European allies and a triumph for Russia. 

The spectacle of the US president berating his Ukrainian counterpart and telling him he is gambling with World War 3 – played out on television in the Oval Office – was hard to witness. 

Zelenskyy – looking increasingly uncomfortable – decided to fight back.
He likely felt he had little choice but to defend himself and his war-torn country. 

 But this act of defiance drew even more condemnation from Trump as well as from JD Vance, the vice president, who also started attacking the Ukrainian leader. 

It is hard to imagine a greater contrast from the chummy scenes between Sir Keir Starmer and Trump and the scolding language used by the American president against Zelenskyy, at times addressing him as though he were a naughty school boy. 

Ukraine’s president, his arms crossed, tried his best to speak up, but he was clearly fighting a losing battle.
The extraordinary breakdown is far more serious than just a made-for-television drama. 

American support for Ukraine is critical if Kyiv is to withstand Russia’s war.
The UK, France and Ukraine’s other European allies have been working overtime to try to keep Trump on their side. 

The US president has vowed to end the war and started talks with Vladimir Putin. The two presidents also plan to meet. That alone was hard for Ukraine to witness. 

But the Ukrainian side has attempted to work with Washington rather than against it, including by being willing to part with profits from its minerals and other natural resources in return for locking Trump into a long term partnership with Ukraine. 

That all looks to be shattered – or at best is in serious jeopardy. 

If Trump, in anger, withdraws all of his military support to Ukraine, Kyiv’s ability to withstand Russia’s military will be seriously diminished. 

The Europeans lack the capability to fill the void.
The only person who wins in this scenario is Vladimir Putin.