Looks very much like Zelensky was set to fail, but I also think he did a very poor job to avoid it. The equivalent of dying honorably, but in this case it is probably the dying of Ukraine.
He probably knew that chances were minimal to achieve something meaningful, but should have still tried it. Play Trump’s ego, mention that if it will be peace it will be because of Trump, mentioning how a great deal the mineral deal lead by Trump is for both Ukraine and the US, and how the deal will obviously be implemented only if there is a free Ukraine. Probably still not enough, but that was the only card he had.
Instead, he was confrontive which is the worst you can do when it comes to Trump. Maybe his emotions were high, maybe he is tired of playing bullshit after 4 years, maybe his lack of experience, or maybe cause this worked with European leaders (for example Germany). But it was definitely the wrong tactical move and undid all the cock-sucking Starmer and Macron did.
No words can express how a shit of a human being Trump is. But JD still managed to be worse than his boss. JD Vance has to be one of the worst people in the world. It is amazing how in a room that has Trump, JD and Musk, Trump would be the nicest of them three.