Volodymyr Zelensky defended Ukraine's right to strike Russian oil refineries on Friday in Brussels, saying he was "only standing up for Ukraine's interests" after Donald Trump called the latest attacks a "disgrace". The dispute sharpened while Zelensky was at an EU summit and while Ukraine enters its fifth winter since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, with the migrant crisis of war still shaping the pressure on Europe and Ukraine alike.
Zelensky told the European Council that the war will cost €155bn next year and said at least €70bn must come from the EU for defence and weapons. He also said Ukraine could produce up to three times more drones but did not have enough money for that, and said Ukraine lacked enough US-made Patriot missiles to defend its towns and cities.
Brussels and the EU summit
At the summit in Brussels, Zelensky said, "If I don't stand up to this... who else will?" He arrived after a stop in London, and EU leaders rallied around him on Friday as funding for Ukraine and helping it get through another freezing winter moved to the top of the agenda.
Zelensky also said, "Leaders, real leaders," as he arrived in Brussels, a brief line that framed his pitch for continued European backing. He told leaders that Europe possessed all the interceptors Ukraine would need this winter, tying the appeal directly to the coming cold months and to the battlefield demands that have followed the invasion.
Trump, Moscow and the diesel deal
Trump made his criticism in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday evening, saying Zelensky was "more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin" and arguing that the strikes could affect Moscow's ability to complete its part of the diesel deal. Trump had announced a ceasefire on energy facilities last week, and Kyiv said it would stop the strikes if Russia did the same.
Moscow said it had never agreed to the deal and continued its attacks. After three days, Kyiv resumed its strikes on Russian oil refineries, reviving the clash over energy targets and turning the diesel deal into the latest test of how far Washington will go in pressing Ukraine to hold back.
Ukraine and US support
The immediate problem for Zelensky is not only the public clash with Trump but the practical dependence behind it. Ukraine wants more money, more drones and more Patriot missiles, and Zelensky linked all three to Europe in Brussels while the dispute with America widened over the diesel deal and battlefield support.
Whether the US shifts its position after Trump's criticism is the unresolved issue at the center of the row, and Zelensky's answer in Brussels was to keep insisting that Ukraine will decide how to defend its interests.
