Zelensky drums up European backing as Trump ties slump

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged EU leaders Friday to keep financing Kyiv's fight with nearly $80 billion more next year, as he insisted he was standing up for his country amid a fresh row with US President Donald Trump. Kyiv's ties with Trump have nosedived after the US leader eased sanctions on Russia as part of a deal to supply diesel. Trump branded Kyiv's actions a "disgrace" and said it was easier to deal with Russia's President Vladimir Putin than Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader ordered his forces to resume strike on Russian refineries. "I defend the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people exclusively," Zelensky told journalists after talks with EU leaders in Brussels. Asked if he was being made a scapegoat for Trump's domestic woes ahead of the US midterms, Zelensky just smiled. "This is my answer," he said, after an extended pregnant pause. The latest breakdown between Trump and Zelensky has fuelled fear that the US leader is siding with Moscow. Those concerns have been heightened by disruptions to a critical US-provided satellite system t