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European Union leaders rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a summit on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump fired another salvo at Ukraine, calling its strikes on Russian refineries a “disgrace.”
The EU is hosting Zelenskyy in Brussels at one of the most difficult moments for Ukraine, with missiles and drones raining down on Ukrainian cities as it faces a fifth full winter of attack since Russia’s invasion, amid fears that the U.S. could pull back intelligence sharing and weapons support from Kyiv.
In the latest attacks early Friday, Russian drones killed at least three people across Ukraine, hit two shopping centres and knocked out power to around 370,000 people in the northwest after strikes on the energy grid, officials said.
Two people died and 12 more were wounded in attacks on three districts of the eastern city of Kharkiv, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. In the northwestern region of Volyn, which borders Poland, a drone strike on a food-processing facility killed one person and wounded eight others, according to Gov. Roman Romaniuk.
Seven people were wounded by drones that hit a major shopping centre and other sites in Rivne, regional Gov. Oleksandr Koval said.
A deminer works at the site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian drone strike on Friday in the Rivne region. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters)
“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, to end this war, that’s why we have to prepare for the winter,” Zelenskyy said as he arrived in Brussels.
“The winter package is not only energy, it’s also air defence and funding,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he would discuss Ukraine’s needs for the rest of this year and for 2027.
In an interview, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told Reuters that the EU would probably have to provide a new loan to Ukraine to help cover its budget gap for next year.
“Last winter was already hell, this one will be, once again, like hell,” Michal said. “We have a lot of gaps to fill, and this is a European mission to fill the gaps that Ukraine needs.”
Ukraine attacks ‘a disgrace’: Trump
Trump blindsided Zelenskyy last weekend by announcing a diesel transaction with Russia, and asserting that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. Facing midterm elections in November, Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for pushing up energy prices that could cost him at the ballot box.
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after Zelenskyy declared that Kyiv was abandoning the energy ceasefire that Trump had announced, as he criticized the U.S. president’s willingness to strike deals with Moscow.
“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” Trump said in an interview with Newsmax, adding that Zelenskyy was more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine says restrictions on the military version of Starlink have disrupted its defence capabilities against Russia and prompted questions about whether changes to Elon Musk’s SpaceX internet service were politically motivated.
Trump has had an often-contentious relationship with Ukraine’s president, dating back to 2019 when he was impeached by the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives for pressuring Zelenskyy for a domestic political favour in exchange for military aid for Ukraine. Last year, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance publicly admonished Zelenskyy at the White House over what they viewed as a perceived lack of gratitude for U.S. support of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s leadership has also been alarmed by disruptions earlier this week to the SpaceX Starshield satellite system, the military-grade version of Starlink used by Kyiv for battlefield communications and drone operations.
The U.S. government is a major Starshield customer. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said this week that the U.S. government owns and controls the system, with decisions about its use resting with the U.S. military and, ultimately, the president. His remarks have fuelled questions about who was responsible for the latest restrictions affecting Ukraine.
By Thursday, some Ukrainian units said their connectivity had returned to normal, though uncertainty remained over what had caused the restrictions.
“Starlink is really necessary for Ukraine. And unfortunately, in short term, Europe can’t replace this capability,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Debate over Ukraine needs
EU leaders have also hit out at Trump’s diesel deal and are also grappling with soaring energy prices since the Iran war started by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.
Zelenskyy told Reuters earlier this month that Ukraine had agreed to a plan with European partners that would allow it to close a $27-billion deficit in its military spending for this year, allowing it to order the drones needed to continue fighting at the start of 2027.
However, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said recently the country still faced an unfunded budget gap for next year of $32.6 billion — and that does not include an estimated $40 billion in direct military supplies from allies.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker urged caution in the debate over making new, far-reaching financial commitments.
“There are so many figures being bandied about that we now need to put them into context, explain them and make it clear where this shortfall is coming from,” he said.
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