Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking European backing at an EU summit in Brussels on Oct. 16 as relations with U.S. President Donald Trump worsen over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Zelensky met NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European leaders on Oct. 15 ahead of joining the summit.
He called for “more real pressure on Russia and more defence support for Ukraine,” urging European countries to act together to end the war.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine needed “all the means necessary to protect itself,” while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk assured Kiev that it was not alone.
Relations with Washington have soured since Trump eased sanctions on Russia last week in exchange for Moscow releasing additional diesel supplies onto global markets.
Zelensky told the Financial Times that the pause in refinery strikes was “done,” accusing Moscow of continuing attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure despite Trump’s ceasefire announcement.
Trump called the renewed Ukrainian attacks a “disgrace” and said they were pushing up global energy prices.
“I think I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin,” he said in a Newsmax interview published on Oct. 15.
Zelensky said a Russian drone strike on energy infrastructure in Lutsk had caused blackouts. The Kremlin accused Kiev of derailing U.S. peace efforts, while Russian officials reported a drone attack and fire at a refinery south of Moscow.
The dispute has also drawn attention to disruptions to Starshield, the military counterpart to SpaceX’s commercial Starlink satellite service.
Officials said slower connections on Oct. 14 had hampered Ukraine’s use of Starshield for battlefield communications and drone operations.
Defence officials said Washington had threatened to withdraw intelligence-sharing if Ukraine continued long-range strikes on Russian refineries. Trump has denied making such a threat.
Elon Musk denied that SpaceX was behind the disruptions, saying Starshield was owned and controlled by the U.S. government. He said speed and usage limits were decided by the U.S. military and ultimately Trump.
