Zelensky praises 'real leaders' in Europe with Trump relationship strained

rss · The Hill 2026-10-16T15:22:25Z auto
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised "real leaders" Friday after a summit in Belgium as tension simmers between the United States and Ukraine following recent developments. "I am so thankful that we have such huge support from EU Council, Commission and leaders, real leaders so that they stay with us from the very beginning of this…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised “real leaders” Friday after a summit in Belgium as tension simmers between the United States and Ukraine following recent developments. “I am so thankful that we have such huge support from EU Council, Commission and leaders, real leaders so that they stay with us from the very beginning of this war,” Zelensky told reporters in Brussels, in a clip CNN posted Friday. “It’s crucial, and we count on the support,” he added. “Of course, we want to end this war as quick as possible. We don’t see now signals from Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war, that’s why we have to prepare for the winter.” Earlier this week, the Ukrainian president criticized President Trump for striking a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on supplying diesel to the U.S. and global market. “Everybody understands that the prices of diesel, it doesn’t depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia,” Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. “Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.” In a post on the social platform X, Zelensky wrote “gifts” to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the world. He further criticized the deal by saying Russia will “repay” the diesel with further terror. Trump struck back during an interview on Newsmax, saying Zelensky is “not a good guy for us to deal with.” “I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed that country,” the president added. Trump added that he believed the war would end soon, but he found Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin. During a press conference Friday, a reporter asked Zelensky if he thought Trump was using him as a scapegoat for his own problems ahead of the November midterm elections, with fuel prices rising amid the war in Iran. Zelensky paused for a while, smiled and said: “This is my answer.” Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Translated from auto by z-ai/glm-5.3-flash

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