US President Donald Trump has abruptly ended a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a fiery exchange in the Oval Office between the leaders derailed critical talks.

"We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.

It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump said in a statement posted to his proprietary social media website.

"I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace," he added.

The comments came after Zelenskyy got into a heated war of words with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who repeatedly accused the embattled Ukrainian leader of being ungrateful for Americans' support in Kiev's war effort.

Zelenskyy had been scheduled to have lunch with Trump and both leaders were going to sign a minerals deal during a joint news conference. Instead, Zelenskyy's armoured SUV abruptly pulled up to the door of the West Wing moments after Trump's post.

Trump asked Zelenskyy to leave the White House after their heated exchange, Fox News reported.

Tense back and forth between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy

White House aides apparently delighted by heated exchange during the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting.

"This is going to be great television, I will say," Trump said as the meeting broke up.

The White House communications team quickly clipped videos of the exchange and shared them on social media.

Several Trump aides did so as well.

"President Trump and Vice President Vance will always stand for America and those who respect our position in the world. America will never be taken advantage of," said Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president who shared one of the videos.

"Thank you @POTUS for standing up not only for America, but for the American warfighter," the Defense Department’s rapid response account posted on X.

Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy devolves into open antagonism.

The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement turned into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy — who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage.

It began with Vance telling Zelenskyy, "Mr. President, with respect. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media."

Zelensky tried to object, prompting Trump to eventually raise his voice and say, "You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people."

"You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have," Trump said.

It was an astonishing display of open antagonism in the Oval Office, a setting better known for somber diplomacy.

Trump laid bare his efforts to coerce Zelenskyy to reach an agreement giving the US an interest in his country’s valuable minerals and to push him toward a diplomatic resolution to the war on the American leader’s terms.