ISTANBUL 

The US president gave his Ukrainian counterpart a blunt warning about the risks of escalating the war with Russia, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday after a heated debate between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenkyy in the Oval Office.

“A fierce dressing down in the Oval Office. Trump told (Zelenskyy) the truth to his face for the first time: the Kiev regime is playing with World War III,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.

“This is useful. But it is not enough – we need to stop military aid ...," he added, reiterating his call for an end to Western support for Kyiv.

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