Zelensky seeks EU support as Trump says he is harder to deal with than Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Brussels for a summit with European Union leaders, seeking support as US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of him and described Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries as a "disgrace".

Trump told US outlet Newsmax on Thursday evening that Zelensky was "more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin". "Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with," Trump said. "He doesn't want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't," he added.

Trump also said Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries were a disgrace, arguing they push up world oil prices and that there were many other targets Ukraine could hit.

Zelensky had paused the attacks for three days at Trump's request for a ceasefire on energy targets, but said on Thursday the strikes would resume because Moscow had never stopped. Trump is frustrated at the continued targeting of Russian oil refineries because the US recently announced a deal to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel to the American market to try to bring down fuel prices. That deal infuriated Zelensky, who called it a gift to Putin.

Zelensky has not commented on Trump's latest criticism.

At the Brussels summit, Zelensky arrived flanked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. Von der Leyen told reporters that the EU had supported Trump's energy ceasefire but Russia had not respected it "not a single minute". She said Russia had escalated and that the EU therefore had to increase sanctions on Russia. "We will not lift any sanctions unless Russia stops the war," she said.

Zelensky has been holding back-to-back talks with EU leaders. On Thursday he met Nato chief Marke Rutte, as well as the presidents of Poland, France, Denmark and Belgium. At the summit on Friday, he said he would hold talks with the chiefs of the European Council and European Commission, and the prime ministers of Hungary, Finland and Sweden.

Meanwhile, deadly attacks on Ukraine continued overnight. Several people were killed in a Russian drone strike in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said. At least 14 people were injured, Oleg Synegubov wrote on Telegram.

Source: BBC World.