Star Metro - European leaders rally around Zelensky as Trump ties slump

Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets.

Zelensky infuriated Trump further by ordering Ukraine's forces to restart strikes on Russian oil refineries in defiance of Washington's demands.

Meanwhile anger in Ukraine has been heightened by disruptions to a critical US-provided satellite system that has hampered its military's ability to counter Russia's intense bombardments ahead of the harsh winter months.

"This is no time to withdraw the support to Ukraine. This is no time to relieve Russia's sanctions," European Council chief Antonio Costa said, standing alongside Zelensky at an EU summit in Brussels. "Now it is time to increase our support, to increase our pressure."

The Ukrainian president welcomed the backing of "real leaders" in Europe and said there were no signals that Moscow is ready "to end this war".

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said that "the situation in Ukraine is currently truly dire, with numerous Russian attacks and a tense relationship between Ukraine and the US."

"It is crucial that we, as Europe, demonstrate our unconditional support for them today -- and explore what additional steps we can take," he said.

- 'Disgrace' -

Zelensky has had to endure a rollercoaster relationship with Trump since the mercurial US leader returned to office last year vowing to cut Washington's support for Kyiv.

Trump on Thursday branded renewed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure a "disgrace" and said Kyiv was driving up global energy prices.

"I think I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin," the US leader said in an interview with Newsmax.

The Kremlin has sought to capitalise on the latest breakdown between Kyiv and Washington, blaming Ukraine for derailing US peace efforts by resuming its strikes on refineries.

Ukraine meanwhile has accused the Trump administration of essentially helping Moscow during the latest falling out as the bad blood appears to have hit Ukraine's ability to defend itself.

Despite the tensions, European leaders are hoping that Ukraine can weather the storm and patch up ties as there is little substitute for key US satellite capabilities.

"Starlink is really necessary for Ukraine and unfortunately in (the) short term Europe can't replace this capability," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said.

Ukraine uses the Starshield system from Elon Musk's SpaceX for battlefield communications, mid-range strikes on Russian-occupied territory and interceptor drones.

It is separate from SpaceX's parallel Starlink civilian satellite system, which Ukraine also uses but not for offensive operations.

Tech billionaire Musk, who has also called for Zelensky to be replaced as leader, said his company was not behind any disruption to the system.

"Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," he added, referring to Trump.

- Ukraine's looming blackhole? -

While the main focus for European leaders will be on overcoming the latest crisis with Washington, they will also focus on how to bolster Ukraine's air defences and cover Ukraine's dire budgetary situation.

"We have to prepare for the winter. It's not only energy, it's also air defence and fundings," Zelensky said.

EU leaders are set to open discussions about how to keep Ukraine afloat next year in the face of a growing realisation that funds will run dry.

The EU has in place a 90-billion-euro ($101-billion) loan for Kyiv that was set to help cover funding to the end of 2027.

But the Ukrainian authorities have warned they will need tens of billions more as Russia's strikes have battered the country's economy.

The talks around the new funding have reignited calls for the European Union to tap around 200 billion euros in frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Ukraine.

"The frozen assets are there. That's what should be used for supporting Ukraine," said Latvian premier Andris Kulbergs.

But there seems little momentum on that front as Belgium, where most of the funds are held, remains opposed.

T. MacDonald--SMC