President Donald Trump raised eyebrows with his unexpected response to a Ukrainian journalist during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague.
On Wednesday, June 25, Trump took a question from Myroslava Petsa, a BBC Ukrainian correspondent whose husband is currently fighting on the front lines in Ukraine. She asked whether the United States was prepared to provide more Patriot anti-air missile systems to support Ukraine’s defense against ongoing Russian attacks.
Rather than answering immediately, Trump shifted the conversation to focus on Myroslava personally, asking: “Are you living yourself now in Ukraine?” The question, though seemingly innocuous, struck many as oddly timed and out of step with the gravity of the topic—especially considering the journalist had just revealed her spouse was serving in the war.
The moment quickly spread online, with critics calling Trump’s tone dismissive and others questioning his sensitivity toward Ukraine’s ongoing struggle and the sacrifices being made by families like Myroslava’s.
While Trump eventually returned to the topic of military aid, the initial exchange left a strong impression—sparking debate about his diplomatic approach and emotional awareness during high-stakes discussions.
BBC Ukrainian journalist Myroslava Petsa spoke to Trump at the summit (BBC)
“My husband is there” she responded, “And me with the kids, I’m in Warsaw actually because he wanted me to be there.”
“Is your husband a soldier? No?” Trump replied, to which Myroslava clarified that he was – and he was in Ukraine right now.
“That’s rough stuff right? That’s tough,” the former businessman responded.
He then went on to answer her original question: “So let me just tell you, they do want to have the anti-missiles, as they call them, The Patriots.
“And we’re going to see if we can make some available, they’re very hard to get.”
He continued: “We need them too, we’re supplying them to Israel and they’re very effective, 100 percent effective, hard to believe how effective, and they do want that more than any other thing, as you probably know.”
He concluded: “It’s a very good question and I wish you a lot of luck. I mean, I can see it’s very upsetting to you.
“Say hello, to your husband, ok?”
And Trump appearing to show a shred of compassion sent social media users into overdrive.
Reacting to a clip of the interview on Instagram, one person asked: “Was that Trump showing.. compassion? for a second?”
“This is the most decent, normal interaction he’s ever had. Surprised he’s capable of this,” a second wrote.
“For a moment I thought Trump was human,” a third said, as a someone else replied: “Right? Calmest we’ve ever seen him.”
Not everyone agreed though.
Trump claims the Patriot missile systems are ‘100 percent effective’ (Anton Petrus/Getty Images)
“Didn’t anyone else interpret his reaction as condescending?” one person asked.
“That’s not empathy,” another weighed in. “That’s deflection and side-stepping the question. And not even an effective attempt at it.”
After the meeting with Trump earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they discussed buying American air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, as per Kyiv Independent.
“Ukraine is ready to buy this equipment and support American weapons manufacturers. Europe can help. We also discussed the potential for co-production of drones. We can strengthen each other,” Zelenskyy said.
The Patriot system works by scanning the skies with a powerful radar, locking on via its command center, then firing interceptor missiles to take down incoming threats.
Trump had previously dismissed the request, accusing Zelenskyy of ‘always looking to purchase missiles’ and incorrectly blaming Ukraine for provoking the war.
