On Friday, Zelenskyy voiced opposition to the decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel imports, arguing that the change would channel more funds into Moscow's active war effort, and he noted that Putin had shown no genuine interest in ending the conflict. On the margins of a Brussels EU summit, Zelenskyy expressed support for a broader European allied role in any negotiating process, while directing pointed criticism at Russia's conduct in peace discussions.
That statement came a day after Trump characterised Ukraine's renewed attacks on Russian oil refineries as a disgrace, linking those operations to upward pressure on global energy prices. When a reporter put to the Ukrainian leader whether Trump was treating him as a convenient explanation for elevated energy costs and the direction of the Iran conflict, Zelenskyy allowed a silence to settle before breaking into a smile and offering only the words "this is my answer" — a response that drew audible laughter from those present.
At the summit, Zelenskyy received backing from EU leaders while aerial bombardments by Russia targeted Ukrainian population centres and questions grew over whether intelligence sharing and military support from the United States would continue flowing to Kyiv. Speaking at the summit, Zelenskyy described his European counterparts as "real leaders."
Over the weekend, Trump put out a statement declaring that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop targeting each other's energy infrastructure — a development Zelenskyy and European partners learned about without any advance warning. Zelenskyy told reporters that money would begin moving back into Russia as a result of the diesel arrangement, according to a broadcast news outlet, while also noting that the deal's scope would fall well short of offsetting whatever pressure the Strait of Hormuz exerts on global energy markets — remarks that came as the president drew criticism from Kyiv and European partners over a loosening of restrictions on Russian diesel imports, a move tied to the approach of the November midterm elections.
Zelenskyy stated that the money would feed directly into Putin's war chest, effectively underwriting the ongoing fighting. He further contended that Putin harbours no real interest in reaching a negotiated settlement, stating that the Russian leader is currently unwilling to engage in any form of peace dialogue and is instead using words as a tactical tool while giving the appearance of being responsive.
Zelenskyy characterised the situation as resembling a parody of any genuine desire to end the war. Moscow's official position, put forward the previous week, held that Ukraine had jeopardised the prospect of an early return to peace negotiations by conducting drone strikes against the Russian capital during the preceding month's presidential election.
Drone attacks on Kharkiv left three people dead, while a separate wave of strikes knocked out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people across other parts of the country. Michal, addressing a broadcaster, indicated that an additional EU loan to Ukraine would likely be necessary to close a projected gap in the country's budget for the coming year, and described the current winter, like the previous one, as an extremely difficult period.
Speaking before EU leaders, Zelenskyy laid out the funding Ukraine would require to keep its military operations going, putting the figure at €155 billion for the coming year. In the address — later shared on X — he called on the audience to provide a minimum of €70 billion toward defence, armaments, and resilience efforts, describing that figure as grounded in reality. The appeal for that backing was put forward directly.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kristersson noted that EU member states had yet to find common ground on the bloc's spending framework, with talks showing no clear path toward resolution, while Ukraine separately raised concerns about possible disruptions to the Starshield satellite network — a system its forces depend on for coordinating operations in the field and for monitoring aerial threats directed at populated areas behind the front lines. Designed for defence applications, Starshield draws on the same orbital network that underpins Starlink, the broadband service built and run by SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk.
A person within the administration disputed the idea that any deliberate slowdown had been directed by Trump, while the president told reporters during the week that intelligence sharing with Ukraine continues. Zelenskyy told reporters that while the network's functionality had shown some improvement, it had not yet returned to full capacity, and that the ongoing outage was leaving civilians exposed to harm — adding that the service remained indispensable to Ukraine's operations. Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, told reporters that Europe would not be in a position to fill that gap within the near term.
Fresh strikes against Russian energy infrastructure followed Zelenskyy's assertion that Moscow had not honoured the truce on energy targets proposed by Trump, while at least one analyst pointed to the hostilities as a factor pushing global oil prices higher. During a broadcast interview, Trump characterised the situation as a disgrace. Video of a drone attack on an oil refinery — broadcast by state television — marked a departure from the approach Russia had typically taken, putting the incident in front of a broader audience than usual.
Budget disagreements within the bloc carried into Friday, with disputes over EU spending piling onto the already strained effort to keep Ukraine backed while absorbing the economic pressures flowing from the broader conflict.
