Zelensky: “I’ll stand up even to the U.S. for national interests” ... Blasts Trump over ‘diesel deal’ and appeals to EU for 102 trillion won

[Financial News] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took a hard line against U.S. President Donald Trump, who agreed to supply Russian diesel to global markets, and said he would stand up even to the United States if necessary to protect his country’s national interests. As the rift with Washington deepens, Zelensky has appealed to the European Union (EU) for massive financial assistance worth more than 100 trillion won, seeking to strengthen security ties with Europe.

According to foreign media outlets including AFP on the 16th (local time), Zelensky held a press conference after attending the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, and strongly denounced the ‘diesel supply deal’ recently made by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This deal just puts money directly into Putin’s pocket and enables him to continue the war,” he said. He added, “I am absolutely certain that if oil trading is allowed, the next step will be sanctions relief on natural gas, the banking system, Russian assets and more.”
Seeking to stabilize oil prices ahead of next month’s midterm elections, Trump recently declared a unilateral ‘energy truce,’ partially easing sanctions on Russia and allowing imports of Russian diesel. In response, Zelensky made clear he would not compromise on protecting his country’s interests, saying, “The United States is just one of several countries supporting us. If I don’t step up to defend us, who will?”

The conflict between the leaders of the United States and Ukraine is spreading across the board. After Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian refineries despite U.S. objections, Trump condemned the attacks in an interview the previous day as “shameful,” adding in frustration, “I’m not a fan of Zelensky. He says he wants a resolution, but he doesn’t really want one.”
Controversy has also intensified after SpaceX’s satellite communications system Starshield, a ‘lifeline’ for Ukrainian military drone operations, recently experienced connection problems. Some alleged that Trump had deliberately capped its speed at 160 km/h to pressure Ukraine, but the U.S. government denied this. Zelensky said, “Communications speeds have not fully returned to their previous levels, but they are improving,” while criticizing the outage for putting civilian lives at risk.

Amid discord with the United States, Zelensky appealed to European countries for full support. He told EU leaders that “the total cost of the war next year will reach 155 billion euros (about 233 trillion won),” and asked them to raise at least 70 billion euros (about 102 trillion to 105 trillion won) in additional funding to maintain national defense and resilience.
Military and intelligence cooperation with Europe is also growing closer. Zelensky said Ukraine is pursuing military self-reliance by procuring PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles and jointly producing a new ballistic missile defense system, Freyja, with Europe. He also noted that dozens of European countries, including France, provide two-thirds of the intelligence shared with Ukraine, and stressed, “Our European colleagues have offered nothing but support, and we feel Europe’s full support right now.”
European leaders also responded with united support. European Council President António Costa declared, “This is not the time to withdraw support for Ukraine or ease sanctions on Russia,” while Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also underscored the need for unconditional support and additional funding.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter