BRUSSELS/KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took aim on Friday at US President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russia and welcomed the prospect of European allies stepping up their role in talks, calling Moscow’s stance a “parody” of peace negotiations.
At a European Union summit in Brussels, Zelenskiy said Russia did not want peace. He added that Ukraine was still experiencing disruptions to the SpaceX Starshield satellite system used for battlefield operations and to down Russian drones attacking cities far from the frontline.
EU leaders rallied around Zelenskiy after Trump again criticised Ukraine, calling its strikes on Russian refineries a “disgrace”. On arriving at the summit, Zelenskiy pointedly referred to his counterparts there as “real leaders”.
The EU was hosting Zelenskiy 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.
Nevertheless, Zelenskiy’s tone suggests he has little intention of softening his stance towards the US. Asked at a press conference whether he felt he was being used as a scapegoat by Trump for high energy prices and the trajectory of the Iran war, Zelenskiy paused for a long time, smiled, and said “this is my answer”, to laughter in the room.
‘Money in Putin’s pocket’
Trump blindsided Zelenskiy 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.
His diesel deal with Russia angered Ukraine and European allies.
“And now we can see how cash will start flowing back into Russia through the diesel deal,” Zelenskiy told the press conference on the sidelines of the summit.
“This diesel deal will never be enough to offset the impact of the Strait of Hormuz on global markets. But it will put more money straight into Putin’s pocket to fund this war.”
Zelenskiy also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of not being interested in peace talks in any form.
“Putin does not want peace talks at the moment, in any form,” he said. “He’s playing with words, claiming they respond… Quite simply, it looks like a parody of a genuine desire to end the war.”
The Kremlin said last week that Ukraine had undermined the possibility of an immediate resumption of peace talks after it had hit Moscow with drones during last month’s election.
Meanwhile in the latest attacks in Ukraine, Russian drone strikes on the city of Kharkiv killed three people, while strikes elsewhere left hundreds of thousands of people without power.
In an interview, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told Reuters that the EU would probably have to provide a new loan to Ukraine to help cover its budget gap for next year.
“Last winter was already hell, this one will be once again like hell,” Michal said.
“The war will cost €155 billion next year. And we need at least €70 billion more from you – for defence, for weapons, and for our resilience,” Zelenskiy said in his address to the EU leaders, which he later posted on X.
“This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back.”
EU leaders grappling with budget
Ukraine’s leadership has been alarmed by disruptions to the Starshield satellite system.
A US official has denied that Trump ordered a deliberate slowdown of Starshield, which is the military-grade version of the Starlink service run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Trump said this week intelligence sharing with Ukraine continued.
Zelenskiy said the operation had improved but not yet been fully restored, adding the disruption placed civilians at risk.
“Starlink is really necessary for Ukraine. And unfortunately, in short term, Europe can’t replace this capability,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after Zelenskiy declared that Kyiv was abandoning the energy ceasefire that Trump had announced.
“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.
Russia has also publicly acknowledged the drone attack on a refinery and broadcast images on state media, breaking with its usual practice in order to play up the incident.
While EU leaders hit out at the US deal to buy Russian diesel, they are also grappling with how to tackle energy prices that have soared since the Iran war, exposing divisions between member states on day one of the summit on Thursday.
Splits continued on Friday, with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson saying member states were “incredibly far apart” from each other when it came to finalising the EU’s own budget. “There isn’t even a glimpse, as they say, a shred of agreement on this,” he said.