Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was applauded by EU leaders when he appeared at this week's summit in Brussels. But getting what he needs from Europe will be tough, and a public dispute with US President Donald Trump has put him in a very difficult position. Speaking to press at the summit, he said that "Putin wants to destroy us" and that Ukraine must prepare for a hard winter.
Experts view the upcoming cold season as a rough one for Ukraine as well. "Ukraine is arguably entering the most difficult winter since [Russia's] full scale invasion," Olena Prokopenko, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a nonpartisan think-tank, told DW. Three painful topics were on the table at the summit for discussion between Zelenskyy and EU leaders: US relations with Russia, Starlink ― and money.
Zelenskyy's visit to Brussels comes at a time when he needs European support more than ever. That's because his relationship with the US is worsening. Worries are growing in the EU and Ukraine that the US is growing more sympathetic to Russia.
President Trump told US news channel Newsmax: "I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin." Trump struck a deal to buy Russian diesel on October 12, which signifies a step back from sanctions placed on Russia and a blow for Ukraine. When Zelenskyy ordered Ukrainian forces to conduct fresh strikes on Russia's oil refineries, Trump labelled the Ukrainian leader's decision as "a disgrace." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video At the press conference at the summit on Friday, Zelenskyy told reporters that he knows that US-built missiles "are being sent to the Middle East, so it is no secret that we are not a priority." He is asking Europe instead to supply the military power Ukraine needs to get through the winter. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US has been the biggest military donor to Ukraine.
But the relationship between the two countries has become more difficult since the start of Donald Trump's second term in the White House. Ukraine uses Starlink, a satellite Internet service developed by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The country also uses Starshield, the military-grade version, for battlefield communications, mid-range strikes on Russian-occupied territory and interceptor drones, though not for long-range strikes in Russia.
At the summit, Zelenskyy spoke of his "deep and unpleasant" surprise upon finding out that Ukraine was experiencing disruptions to the systems. He said this has hobbled Ukraine's ability to defend itself. Both Elon Musk and the White House say they are not responsible for the slowdown.
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