At Brussels summit, EU leaders pledge support for Ukraine as Zelenskyy seeks aid and US backpedals

EU leaders reaffirm backing

Costa called for more support and pressure on Russia, saying it was not the time to ease sanctions. Von der Leyen said the EU would not lift sanctions unless Russia stopped the war.

The leaders spoke a week after US President Donald Trump decided to lift sanctions on Russian oil exports and buy diesel from Russia. A US official also said Washington was considering easing sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet of unflagged tankers.

Zelenskyy seeks winter aid

Zelenskyy said Ukraine saw no sign that Russia was ready to end the war and that preparations for winter were necessary. He said the winter package needed to include energy, air defense and funding.

At the summit, he asked EU leaders for at least €70 billion ($79 billion) in additional funding next year. Zelenskyy said the war would cost €155 billion and that the requested amount would support defense, weapons and resilience.

US policy draws scrutiny

Trump has called for Zelenskyy to be replaced and criticized Kyiv’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. He described those attacks as a “disgrace,” according to the article, and said they were pushing global oil prices higher.

Kyiv reported restrictions earlier in the week on its use of Starshield, Starlink’s military-grade satellite service, which Ukraine relies on for battlefield communications, strikes and interceptor drones. Trump denied that he or Starlink founder Elon Musk caused the restrictions and said the United States had not imposed them. Musk said the US government was responsible, not SpaceX.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe was working to help Ukraine with satellite imagery and early-warning systems. The report ends mid-quote after introducing Macron’s remarks.