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

CNN

By Lauren Kent, 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.

After halting strikes on Russian oil refineries for three days at the request of the United States, Ukraine has resumed those attacks given Russia didn’t adhere to US President Donald Trump’s so-called “energy ceasefire.”

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, calling him “not a good guy for us to deal with.”

“I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed that country,” Trump said, without acknowledging Russia’s invasion. “I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”

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.

“Of course 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,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that “energy needs” were at the top of his agenda ahead of the winter.

Amid a challenging week diplomatically, Ukraine has also run out of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks, 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 a news conference on Friday, 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.

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.

Zelensky has urged EU leaders to step up financial and military support for Ukraine, which urgently needs more air defenses to protect civilian and energy infrastructure from relentless Russian strikes.

CNN’s Victoria Butenko and Daria Tarasova-Markina contributed to this report.

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