Trump Calls Ukraine's Strikes on Russian Refineries a 'Disgrace' as EU Leaders Rally Behind Zelensky at Brussels Summit

European Union leaders rallied around President Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit in Brussels on Friday as United States President Donald Trump fired another salvo at Kyiv, calling Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries a "disgrace", Reuters reported.

Main News Report

• European Union leaders hosted Zelensky in Brussels on Friday, 16 October, at what Reuters described as one of the most difficult moments for Ukraine since the war began, with Russian missiles and drones raining down on Ukrainian cities.
• In an interview with the Newsmax outlet, Trump said of Ukraine's refinery strikes: "All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a disgrace."
• Speaking to US media on Thursday evening, Trump also said the Ukrainian leader was "more difficult to deal with" than Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported via its syndicated coverage.
• Zelensky paused attacks on Russian energy targets for three days at Trump's request but declared on Thursday that Kyiv was abandoning the energy ceasefire Trump had announced last weekend, saying Moscow had never stopped its own strikes.
• Ukrainian drones struck a Russian refinery in Ryazan, about 200 kilometres south-east of Moscow, on Thursday morning after the pause ended, Le Monde reported.

Background Context

• Trump blindsided Zelensky last weekend by announcing that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities, a deal Kyiv said it had never accepted in that form.
• Facing US midterm elections in November, Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for pushing up energy prices that could cost him at the ballot box, Reuters reported.
• The United States has also struck a diesel deal with Russia for several hundred thousand metric tons of Russian diesel aimed at lowering US fuel prices, a move that angered Ukraine and European allies, Le Monde reported.
• Kyiv says Russia continued to strike Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure during the pause, killing over 100 people in the past week, and is facing shortages of Western munitions to intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
• The Trump administration is also considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow-fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, a US official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Reactions and Statements

• Zelensky, on arriving at the Brussels summit: "We want to end this war as quick as possible. We don't see now signals from the Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war, that's why we have to prepare for the winter."
• The Ukrainian president said the winter package for Ukraine was "not only energy, it's also air defence and funding", and that he would discuss Kyiv's needs for the rest of this year and for 2027.
• German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel on Friday reaffirmed their countries' "unwavering" backing for Ukraine, saying Russia had shown no willingness to negotiate, Reuters reported.
• There are growing fears in Kyiv and European capitals that Washington could pull back intelligence sharing and weapons support for Ukraine, alongside concerns over restricted access to the Starlink satellite network crucial to Ukrainian forces, Reuters and Le Monde reported.
• Russian drone strikes on the city of Kharkiv killed three people, while strikes elsewhere left hundreds of thousands of people without power, according to the Reuters-syndicated coverage.

Why This News Matters

• The open rift between Washington and Kyiv over energy targets is the most serious public fracture in the Western alliance over Ukraine policy, with Europe now visibly aligning behind Zelensky while Trump pressures him to stop the refinery campaign.
• For Pakistan, the stakes are economic: Trump's core complaint is that the strikes are pushing up world oil prices, and Pakistan's own petrol prices and import bill move with those same global prices — Islamabad cut petrol by Rs3.63 per litre only this week.
• Any US move to ease sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet would reshape global oil flows and pricing at a time when Pakistan is negotiating a $6.7 billion Saudi oil facility and seeking relief on its energy import costs.
• The Brussels summit positions the EU as Kyiv's principal backer if US support falters — a geopolitical realignment that would affect everything from European defence spending to global energy markets.

Future Developments

• Attention now turns to the winter package: whether EU leaders in Brussels commit concrete funding, air-defence systems and energy aid to help Ukraine through the winter.
• Kyiv will be watching whether Washington follows through on easing shadow-fleet sanctions or takes further steps to restrict intelligence sharing and Starlink access.
• Ukraine's refinery strikes look set to continue after Zelensky publicly abandoned Trump's energy ceasefire, raising the prospect of further escalation and higher oil prices.
• With the US midterm elections in November, Trump's posture on Ukraine could harden further if energy prices keep climbing — or shift if the refinery campaign forces concessions from Moscow.

#Ukraine #Zelensky #Trump #EU #Russia #WorldNews #BreakingNews #Pakistan