Rising tensions between Zelenskyy and Trump will take centre stage on Friday as the Ukrainian leader joins the second day of the EU summit.
European Union leaders are set to rally behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he joins the second day of a summit in Brussels amid a bitter spat with US President Donald Trump, whose diesel deal with Russia has jolted the alliance.
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Trump has demanded Ukraine cease attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he has blamed for elevated fuel prices. Zelenskyy has hit back, saying it is actually Trump's war on Iran that is responsible for the disruption.
The campaign against Russia's oil industry will continue unabated, Zelenskyy said, brushing off fears that Washington might cut off intelligence in retaliation.
EU leaders, many of whom see the long-range strikes as Kyiv's main leverage over Moscow, are expected to close ranks behind the Ukrainian leader to portray a common front as the transatlantic alliance goes through yet another crisis of unity.
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Ukraine working on European alternatives to Starlink, top Zelenskyy aide says
As EU leaders begin the second day of their summit in Brussels, with Ukraine's defence needs high on the agenda, a senior Ukrainian official has told Euronews that work is already under way on European alternatives to US-made air defence systems and Starlink satellite communications.
Speaking exclusively to Euronews' Europe Today programme, Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, said the European FREYJA anti-ballistic missile programme had progressed to direct engagement between defence companies.
"We need a European equivalent of an air defence system," he said, adding that Ukraine intended to take a leading role in its development.
Kyiv is also pursuing a European alternative to Starlink, although Zhovkva declined to disclose further details.
Asked whether developing these systems would take too long, Zhovkva said progress would come considerably sooner than sceptics anticipated.
"We have a clear timetable and deadlines," he said. "It will be much faster than ten or fifteen years, and even faster than five."
Zhovkva also insisted that Europe must be involved in any negotiations to end the war, arguing that Ukraine's future security was inseparable from that of the wider continent.
Ukraine takes centre stage on Friday
The second day of the EU summit will have one key purpose: to show the world that Europe continues to be fully behind Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Of course, this isn't the first time that this has happened. In fact, it's a message that every EU summit has sent since February 2022. What changes now is the context: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he feels betrayed by the diesel supply deal that US President Donald Trump struck last Friday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in open defiance of Western sanctions.
Since then, relations between Zelenskyy and Trump have rapidly deteriorated. Trump has called for new elections in Ukraine, which are forbidden in wartime, while Zelenskyy insists the strikes on Russia's oil refineries, which Trump has asked him to stop, will resume.
What happened yesterday?
The first day of the EU summit was dominated by the fight over the next long-term budget. At the end of an inconclusive day of talks, António Costa, the president of the European Council, took charge of the negotiations. He has committed to present a new compromise with revised figures ahead of a special summit next month.
Inconclusive sparring at EU summit puts budget timeline into question
EU leaders stuck to their red lines on the next long-term budget at Thursday’s summit, with several now rejecting the presumed December deadline. Council Presi…