EU Leaders Back Zelenskiy as Trump Slams Ukraine Strikes

By -Manishraj Yadav

October 16, 2026

EU leaders rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a summit in Brussels on Friday, October 16, 2026, as US President Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, calling them a "disgrace" that drives up world oil prices.

Trump's "disgrace" remark and the Newsmax interview

In an interview with the Newsmax news outlet aired Thursday, Trump said Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries keep global energy prices elevated. "All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a disgrace," Trump said, after Ukraine hit a Rosneft refinery southeast of Moscow that helps supply the Russian capital. He added that diesel refineries are a poor target when the world needs diesel, and said he finds Zelenskiy "more difficult to deal with" than Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I'm not a big fan of Zelenskiy," he said.

The remarks follow a turbulent week. Trump blindsided Zelenskiy last weekend by announcing that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities — a deal Zelenskiy said he had not been informed about in advance. Ukraine halted strikes on Russian refineries for three days at Washington's request, then resumed them, saying Russia was not honoring the arrangement. Trump has also blamed the refinery strikes for pushing up fuel prices ahead of November's US midterm elections, while Zelenskiy said the US president's diesel deal allowing Russian diesel exports left him feeling betrayed.

Ukraine's and Europe's response

Kyiv's position is that the strikes are retaliation for Russia's ongoing attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy told the Financial Times that Ukraine's patience had run out after Russia rained missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian power stations, knocking out supply to hundreds of thousands. Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv this week killed three people, and strikes elsewhere left hundreds of thousands without power.

Arriving in Brussels, Zelenskiy emphasized preparation for winter: "We don't see now signals from the Russian side that they are ready to end this war, that's why we have to prepare for the winter," he said, adding that the winter package covers energy, air defence and funding — needs he plans to discuss for the rest of this year and 2027. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had supported Trump's energy ceasefire but Russia "did not respect it — not a single minute," adding that Europe must increase pressure on Moscow. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the EU will probably have to provide Ukraine a new loan to cover its budget gap next year.

Wider frictions: Starshield, sanctions and summit divisions

The rift extends beyond the refineries. Ukraine faced reduced usage of SpaceX's Starshield satellite system, which it relies on for battlefield communications and drone operations — the slowdown order came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official, though a US official denied a deliberate slowdown and Trump said intelligence sharing continues. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe has no ready short-term alternative to Starlink. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on "shadow fleet" vessels transporting oil and petroleum products including from Russia, a US official said Wednesday. On day one of the Brussels summit, member states also exposed divisions over soaring energy prices.

For now, Europe is stepping in where Washington is pulling back — but with winter approaching and both energy wars escalating, the durability of that support is the summit's real test.

Watch: Zelenskiy's Brussels press conference after the EU summit, where he defended Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries and called for stronger protection of Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0