Taoiseach says he hopes Europe can continue its ‘outreach’ to the United States over Ukraine

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he hoped Europe can continue its ‘outreach’ to the United States over Ukraine.

He made the comments at an EU leaders summit in Brussels as they rally around Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Taoiseach said the EU would look at all options regarding how they continue to support Ukraine.

Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is a ‘disgrace’ that keeps global energy prices elevated, US President Donald Trump told the Newsmax news outlet in an interview aired on Thursday.

The EU is hosting Zelensky in Brussels at one of the most difficult moments for Ukraine, with missiles and drones raining down on Ukrainian cities and fears that the US could pull back intelligence sharing and weapons support from Kyiv.

Trump blindsided Zelensky last weekend by announcing that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. Facing US midterm elections in November, Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for pushing up energy prices that could cost him at the ballot box.

“We want to end this war as quick as possible. We don’t see now signals from the Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war, that’s why we have to prepare for the winter,” Zelensky said as he arrived at the summit.

“The winter package is not only energy, it’s also air defence and funding,” Zelensky said, adding that he would discuss Ukraine’s needs for the rest of this year and for 2027.

Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites that Trump had announced, and criticised his willingness to strike deals with Moscow.

Russia rained down missile and drone strikes, targeting energy facilities such as power stations, knocking out supply to hundreds of thousands, and Zelensky told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s patience had run out.

Trump’s administration has been trying to mediate a ceasefire deal to end the war that started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He repeated to Newsmax his belief that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin hate each other, which makes it hard to end the conflict.

“I’m not a big fan of Zelensky,” Trump said. “I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelenskiy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”

As Trump pressured Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, Ukraine faced reduced usage of a satellite system on which it relies for battlefield communications and drone operations.

The order came from inside the White House, said two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, without specifying who there made the decision or was responsible for implementing the order.

Winter preparations will be on the EU agenda

Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after Zelensky declared that Kyiv was abandoning the energy ceasefire that Trump had announced, and criticised his willingness to strike deals with Moscow.

“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” Trump said in an interview with the Newsmax news outlet, after Ukraine hit a refinery southeast of Moscow which helps to supply the Russian capital.

The Trump administration is also considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, a US official said on Wednesday.

EU leaders have hit out at Trump’s diesel deal, though they are also grappling with soaring energy prices since the Iran war that exposed divisions between member states on day one of the summit on Thursday.

Zelensky told Reuters earlier this month that Ukraine had agreed a plan with European partners that would allow it to close a $27 billion deficit in its military spending for this year, allowing it to order the drones needed to continue fighting at the start of 2027.

However, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said recently Ukraine still faced an unfunded budget gap for next year of $32.6 billion – and that does not include an estimated $40 billion in direct military supplies from allies.

“I am unhappy with the number of countries that have been willing to pledge new financial support to Ukraine. But we will see several countries pledging more military support soon,” said Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

“Today will be more about talking to Zelenskiy about how to deal with the complex diplomatic situation that has arisen and how to survive the winter.”

Asked about Trump’s latest remarks, Jetten said, “This is not the right language. It is also in the interest of Trump to defend Ukraine in this war.”

Putin plays down effect of Ukrainian attacks

For Russia’s part, President Vladimir Putin played down the effect of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, saying they had caused “nothing particularly significant”.

On the eve of Zelenskiy’s appearance at the summit, Russia also moved to place local assets of French, German, Swedish and Dutch companies under temporary management, in retaliation for the EU’s support for Ukraine.

In the latest attacks, Russian drone strikes on the city of Kharkiv killed three people, according to local authorities, while strikes on the Volyn region bordering Poland left 370,000 people without power. Emergency power cuts were introduced in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv during Russian strikes, private energy provider DTEK said on X.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said Zelensky “will probably look everybody straight in the eye and say, thank you for the 90 billion, but that money is going to run out because a war is a very costly thing.”

“So are you, as a European family, still willing, ready and able to put your money where your mouths are and support Ukraine and keep Ukrainian society and Ukrainian defence up and running?” he said.