Zelensky Turns to Europe as Trump Escalates Feud Over Diesel Deal

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels on Friday to rally European support, hours after Donald Trump described the Ukrainian leader as “more difficult to deal with” than Vladimir Putin and condemned Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries as “a disgrace”.

The US president, speaking to the American outlet Newsmax, said he was “not a big fan of Zelensky” and did not consider him “a good guy for us to deal with”. Trump added that the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t want to settle”, despite claiming otherwise. His remarks mark a sharp deterioration in relations between Washington and Kyiv, strained further by a controversial American deal to import Russian diesel and by new restrictions on Ukraine’s battlefield satellite communications.

Zelensky has not responded directly to the criticism. Instead, he thanked “real leaders” for their support as he was greeted in the Belgian capital by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. The summit’s agenda centres on funding for Ukraine and helping it endure another cold winter — the fifth since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Von der Leyen defended Ukraine’s position. “Of course we supported President Trump’s energy ceasefire, but we’ve seen that Russia did not respect it, not a single minute,” she told reporters, adding that sanctions on Moscow “have to increase”. Moscow said it had never agreed to the energy ceasefire Trump announced last week. Zelensky had paused strikes on Russian energy targets for three days at Trump’s request, but resumed them on Thursday, saying the Kremlin had never stopped its own attacks.

Costa did not mention the United States by name, but his message was pointed: “This is no time to withdraw support” for Ukraine, he said, and “no time to relieve Russian sanctions”. His words followed Washington’s agreement to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel, a deal that has infuriated Kyiv and alarmed European allies.

Trump’s frustration stems from Ukraine’s continued targeting of Russian oil refineries, which affects Moscow’s ability to export diesel to America. Since the war with Iran began in February, US fuel prices, especially for diesel, have soared, souring Trump’s standing with the American public ahead of next month’s mid-term elections. Zelensky has called the diesel deal a gift to Putin and “an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged”.

Tensions deepened earlier this week when restrictions were placed on the US-owned Starlink internet network, which is critical to Kyiv’s ability to defend itself. On Tuesday night, as the communications network was limited, Russian strikes killed several people in Ukraine. Residents and the government said there was no prior warning of the incoming attack. The Trump administration had previously warned it could withhold intelligence sharing if Kyiv did not stop hitting Russia’s oil refineries.

The human cost of Moscow’s campaign was evident again overnight. Several people were killed in a Russian drone strike in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, while some 270,000 households were left without power after strikes in the western Volyn region, local governors said. “Russia is trying everything to destroy the energy and water infrastructure,” Von der Leyen told Zelensky before the summit began, “but we stand by your side, we support you as we did in the other winters.”

Zelensky said his country wants the war to end “as quick as possible”, but added that Russia is showing no signs of wanting the same. “That’s why we have to prepare for the winter,” he said. “A winter package is not only energy, it’s also defence and funding.” He held back-to-back talks with EU leaders while in Brussels, meeting Nato chief Mark Rutte on Thursday along with the leaders of Poland, France, Denmark and Belgium, and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at No 10 in London a day earlier. On Friday he also held talks with the chiefs of the European Council and European Commission, and was due to meet the prime ministers of Hungary, Finland and Sweden.

Ukraine continued its own strikes against Russian territory overnight. The airspace above Moscow was closed for several hours, causing flight delays, as 644 drones were intercepted above 26 Russian regions, the defence ministry said. Ninety-four Ukrainian drones were shot down as they approached Moscow, the mayor said. In the Vladimir region, east of Moscow, the governor said Ukrainian drones were intercepted to prevent an attack on heating infrastructure. The governor of the southern Rostov region said Ukrainian drones hit industrial and warehouse facilities, causing a fire and injuring one person.

Trump’s remarks and Washington’s diesel deal have left Kyiv’s European allies scrambling to fill the gap. As the fifth winter of Russia’s unprovoked invasion approaches, Ukraine’s defenders face a familiar and grim question: whether Western support will hold — or whether the West will tire of a war it did not start. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia’s aggression.