Zelensky praises ‘real leaders’ in Europe as his relationship with Trump deteriorates

By Lauren Kent, Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN

(CNN) — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky praised “real leaders” in Europe at a summit in Belgium on Friday, taking a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump amid testy relations between Kyiv and Washington.

European leaders are rallying around Zelensky after the White House heaped pressure on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil facilities, even as Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continue unabated.

Ukraine halted strikes on Russian oil refineries for three days after Trump’s surprise announcement on Sunday of an “energy ceasefire” between the two countries, but has since resumed attacks given Russia did not reciprocate.

Trump, who is desperate for soaring global diesel prices to ease ahead of next month’s midterm elections, blindsided European leaders last week when he struck a deal allowing Russian diesel exports – a move Zelensky said had left him feeling betrayed.

The US president has blamed the rise in fuel prices on the Ukraine-Russia war, eager to deflect attention from his war in Iran which remains deeply unpopular with voters.

On Thursday, Trump once again lashed out at Zelensky in an interview with Newsmax, saying he found him “more difficult to deal with than Putin.” The following day, he walked back on his comments, saying said he had a “good” relationship with his Ukrainian counterpart. “I want him to do one thing,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Settle the war,” he said.

As Zelensky arrived at Friday’s summit in Brussels, flanked by the European Union’s top leaders, he didn’t mention the deterioration in US relations, but was keen to emphasize the strength of his relationship with the EU.

“I’m so thankful that we have such huge support from (the) EU Council, Commission and leaders – real leaders – so that they stay with us from the very beginning of this war,” Zelensky said as he walked into the summit.

Starlink services not fully restored

Difficulties for Kyiv have mounted this week, with the country reporting restrictions on Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service.

Zelensky said on Friday that the Starlink operations had improved but had not yet been fully restored.

“They disrupted logistics and compromised the protection of the civilian population. That’s why this is very troubling,” Zelensky said, noting the military relied on Starlink-equipped drones, which need to move at a high speed, to deliver food and water to troops on the frontline.

“Have we fully restored the speed we had before? No. Is the speed coming back? Yes,” he added.

Trump on Friday said he was not behind the Starlink disruption, telling reporters at the White House, “I didn’t do that. No, we didn’t do that at all.

“It wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon (Musk). And from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been,” he said.

Trump added that he wasn’t sure there were any speed restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starshield.“I don’t even think it was slowed down. But from what I understand… We didn’t slow it down at all. And I think it’s probably functioning,” Trump said.

Musk said earlier this week that any decision to limit Starshield was up to the US president. A senior US official told CNN that Trump had made no such request.

The Ukrainian government said on Tuesday that it had not received its usual early warning from the US before a Russian ballistic missile struck a major power plant in Kyiv and damaged a residential building.

But Trump insisted that the United States had not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

Amid a challenging week diplomatically, Ukraine has also run out of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday.

“It’s an open secret that we are not a priority destination for these missiles now,” Zelensky told Friday’s news conference, noting that most Patriot interceptors were now being sent to the Middle East. But he added that Ukraine was grateful to the Europeans “who are financing all of this,” as well as to NATO and to the White House.

Silence speaks volumes

When a reporter asked whether he thought Trump was treating Ukraine as a scapegoat for his own problems given high fuel prices and the ongoing Iran war, Zelensky paused for a full 15 seconds. With a smile, he told the silent room: “This is my answer.”

Earlier the Ukrainian president said his team was in constant contact with US negotiators and would arrange a meeting in the coming days.

“We will keep living, fighting, and most importantly, living with dignity,” he added. “When the quality of life is so terrible during wartime, maintaining dignity is a very important thing.”

EU leaders said they were preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia – the 22nd package since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In contrast with the Trump administration, they were keen to stress that sanctions against Moscow would be strengthened unless Putin stops the war.

“We supported President Trump’s energy ceasefire, but we’ve seen that Russia did not respect it – not a single minute. Instead, Russia escalated, and therefore we have to increase the pressure on Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Zelensky has “no desire” for a peaceful resolution, adding “on that point, we are in complete agreement with President Trump.”

In a visit to a military command post in an undisclosed location, Putin vowed to continue the war.

“In response to strikes by the Kyiv authorities against our industrial and fuel-and-energy sector facilities, the Russian Armed Forces continue to carry out strikes against Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and infrastructure facilities,” Putin said, according to a video released by the Kremlin on Friday.

The video shows Putin wearing military uniform and greeting senior Russian commanders.

CNN’s Victoria Butenko, Anna Chernova and Kit Maher contributed to this report.

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