Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the EU summit in Brussels on Friday alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, thanking the bloc for its support and saying Kyiv sees no signal that Moscow wants the war ended quickly, the BBC reported.
The summit followed sharp comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who told Newsmax on Thursday evening that Zelensky is "more difficult to deal with than Putin" and described Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries as "a disgrace" for what they do to oil prices. Zelensky also criticized a U.S. deal to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel, calling it a gift to Putin.
Zelensky said Ukraine paused strikes on Russian energy targets for three days at Trump's request but is resuming them because Russia never stopped its own attacks; Moscow maintains it never agreed to any such ceasefire. Von der Leyen said Russia did not respect the pause "not a single minute," and promised sanctions pressure would increase, with a 22nd round in preparation and no sanctions lifted unless Russia stops the war.
The diplomacy played out against fresh violence: an overnight Russian drone strike on Kharkiv killed several people and injured at least 19, according to regional governor Oleh Synegubov.
