Zelenskyy: Ukraine Has Right to Defend Itself After Trump Criticism
BBC News
Image source: Reuters
Image caption: Zelenskyy (centre) arrives at a summit in Brussels with European Council President António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
By Tiffany Wertheimer
Published 16 October 2026, 09:47 BST
Updated 39 minutes ago
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he is "only standing up for Ukraine's interests" following the scathing criticism from Donald Trump, who claimed he was "more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."
The US President, who recently made a controversial deal with Moscow to import diesel, labeled Kyiv's new wave of strikes on Russian oil refineries a "disgrace."
Zelenskyy responded, "If I don't stand up to this... who else will do this?"
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv escalated over the diesel deal and restrictions on Ukraine's battlefield satellite network. However, Zelenskyy expressed hope for a meeting between US and Ukrainian negotiators "at one level or another" in the near future.
A news conference following the EU summit concluded with a telling 15 seconds of silence when Zelenskyy was asked if he felt Trump was using him as a scapegoat for his political problems. After a long pause, Zelenskyy broke into a grin, eliciting laughter from the journalists present. "This is my answer," he said.
He arrived at the summit alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, and thanked "real leaders" in Europe for their support.
Trump heavily criticized Zelenskyy for resuming strikes on Russian oil refineries after the US President suddenly declared a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire on energy infrastructure last week.
Kyiv agreed to halt strikes if Russia reciprocated but Moscow denied ever agreeing to the deal and continued its attacks. After three days, Zelenskyy ordered the resumption of strikes.
"Of course, we supported President Trump's energy ceasefire, but we've seen that Russia did not respect it, not a single minute," Von der Leyen stated before the summit, adding that sanctions on Russia "[had] to increase."
The summit's agenda focused on funding for Ukraine and assisting the country in enduring another cold winter—the fifth since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"Russia is trying everything to destroy the energy and water infrastructure," Von der Leyen told Zelenskyy, "but we stand by your side, we support you as we did in the other winters."
Zelenskyy emphasized his country's desire for the war to end "as quick as possible" but noted a lack of indications from Russia that it shares the same objective.
"That's why we have to prepare for the winter. A winter package is not only energy, it's also defense and funding," he said.
Deadly attacks on Ukraine continued throughout the night, with several fatalities reported in a Russian drone strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, while around 270,000 households were left without power following strikes in the western Volyn region, according to local governors.