EU rallies in support of Ukraine amid Trump standoff

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy asks EU leaders for extra $79bn to help fight Russia next year.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the European Union summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 16, 2026 [Olivier Hoslet/Pool via Reuters]

European Union leaders have urged continued support for Ukraine amid a deepening rift between Washington and Kyiv that has raised fears the country could be left more exposed to Russian attacks heading into the winter.

Top EU officials stressed the need to keep arming Ukraine and sanctioning Russia on Friday, the second and final day of an EU summit in Brussels attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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“This is no time to withdraw support to Ukraine,” said European Council President Antonio Costa, standing beside the Ukrainian leader. “This is no time to relieve Russia’s sanctions. Now it is time to increase our support, to increase our pressure.”

The EU is hosting Zelenskyy at one of the ⁠most difficult moments for Ukraine, four-and-a-half years after neighbouring Russia invaded it.

Russian missiles and drones have rained down on Ukrainian cities daily, and Kyiv’s souring relationship with the United States has sparked fears that Washington could pull back crucial intelligence sharing and weapons support.

Arriving at the summit, Zelenskyy thanked EU leaders for their support and pointedly referred to them as “real leaders”.

That remark appeared to be a dig at US President Donald Trump, who last weekend blindsided the Ukrainian president by announcing that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities.

Zelenskyy abandoned that deal on Thursday, saying Russia had failed to live up to it, a move Trump called “a disgrace” .

Trump has also angered Ukraine by suspending sanctions on Russian oil products and striking a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin for Moscow to supply large quantities of diesel to global markets.

“This diesel deal will never be enough to offset the impact of the Strait of Hormuz on global markets,” Zelenskyy said on the sidelines of the summit. “But it will put more money straight into Putin’s pocket to fund this war.”

He also accused the Russian leader of having no real interest in peace talks.

“Putin does not want peace talks at the moment, in any form,” Zelenskyy said. “He’s playing with words … Quite simply, it looks like a parody of a genuine desire to end the war.”

Zelenskyy asks EU for $79bn

Bracing for expected winter-time attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy asked EU leaders for an additional 70bn euros ($79 billion) in funding next year to keep up the fight against Russia.

“The war will cost 155 billion euros [$174bn] next year. And we need at least 70 billion euros more from you – for defence, for weapons and for our resilience,” the Ukrainian president said.

“This is a realistic amount. And I ask you to find this support. It will help us hold Russia back.”

Al Jazeera’s Rosie Birchard, reporting from the summit in Brussels, said Zelenskyy made an “emotional plea” for European support, with air defence systems at the top of his “wish list”.

Zelenskyy appealed to European countries to dig into their own stocks to help cover Ukraine’s needs in the colder winter months, said Birchard. “But of course, that would mean some European countries potentially compromising their own national security.”

‘We stand by your side’

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told the Reuters news agency that the EU would probably have to provide a new loan to Ukraine to help cover its budget gap for next year.

“Last winter was already hell, this one will be once again like hell,” Michal said.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen pledged continued EU support for Ukraine through the winter.

“Russia is trying everything to destroy the energy and water infrastructure. But we stand by your side. We will support you as we did in the other winters,” she said.

Austria, however, urged caution in the debate over new, far-reaching financial commitments to Ukraine.

“There are so many figures being bandied about that we now need to put them into context, explain them and make it clear where this shortfall is coming from,” said Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker.

Al Jazeera’s Birchard said the general European solidarity for Zelenskyy was a stark difference from recent messages coming from Washington. “He is once again, at least, among friends,” she said.

However, Birchard added that some European officials were said to be appealing to Zelenskyy behind closed doors to “kind of dial down” his public criticism of Trump, which they fear could put Europeans in a tough position.

“Of course, they [European officials] want to show that they are close to Ukraine, that they are supporting Zelenskyy, but they also don’t want to antagonise the US,” she said.

Friday’s summit came as Russian strikes killed three people in Kharkiv and left hundreds of thousands of people without power in Ukraine.

The Kremlin last week said Ukraine had undermined the possibility of an immediate resumption of peace talks after hitting Moscow with drones during last month’s election .

乌克兰总统泽连斯基请求欧盟领导人明年额外提供 790 亿美元，以帮助乌克兰对抗俄罗斯。

2026年10月16日，乌克兰总统泽连斯基在比利时布鲁塞尔举行的欧盟峰会上会见了瑞典首相克里斯特松。[Olivier Hoslet/Pool via Reuters]

由于华盛顿和基辅之间的裂痕不断加深，人们担心乌克兰在冬季到来之际可能会更容易受到俄罗斯的袭击，欧盟领导人敦促继续支持乌克兰。

周五，欧盟高级官员强调，有必要继续向乌克兰提供武器并制裁俄罗斯。当天是欧盟在布鲁塞尔举行的峰会的第二天，也是最后一天。乌克兰总统泽连斯基出席了此次峰会。

列表 1/3：特朗普抨击泽连斯基，乌克兰恢复对俄罗斯炼油厂的袭击

特朗普排除对伊朗使用核武器的可能性（共3条，此为第2条）

特朗普称，美国正在与俄罗斯和中国进行“无核化”谈判，名单共3个。

“现在不是撤回对乌克兰支持的时候，”欧洲理事会主席安东尼奥·科斯塔站在乌克兰领导人身旁说道，“现在也不是解除对俄罗斯制裁的时候。现在是时候加大支持力度，加大施压力度了。”

在邻国俄罗斯入侵乌克兰四年半之后，欧盟正值乌克兰最艰难的时刻之一接待泽连斯基。

俄罗斯的导弹和无人机每天都在向乌克兰城市倾泻而下，基辅与美国日益恶化的关系引发了人们的担忧，即华盛顿可能会撤回至关重要的情报共享和武器支持。

泽连斯基抵达峰会现场后，感谢欧盟领导人的支持，并特意称他们为“真正的领导人”。

这番言论似乎是在暗讽美国总统唐纳德·特朗普，特朗普上周末突然宣布基辅和莫斯科已同意不以对方的能源设施为攻击目标，令乌克兰总统措手不及。

泽连斯基周四放弃了该协议，称俄罗斯未能履行协议，特朗普称此举“令人蒙羞”。

特朗普暂停对俄罗斯石油产品的制裁，并与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京达成协议，由莫斯科向全球市场供应大量柴油，此举也激怒了乌克兰。

泽连斯基在峰会间隙表示：“这项柴油协议永远不足以抵消霍尔木兹海峡对全球市场的影响。但它会直接给普京的口袋里塞进更多钱，用于资助这场战争。”

他还指责俄罗斯领导人对和平谈判没有真正的兴趣。

泽连斯基说：“普京目前根本不想进行任何形式的和平谈判。他是在玩弄文字游戏……简而言之，这看起来就像是在拙劣地模仿真正想要结束战争的愿望。”

泽连斯基向欧盟索要790亿美元

为应对预计冬季乌克兰能源基础设施将遭受的袭击，泽连斯基要求欧盟领导人明年额外提供 700 亿欧元（790 亿美元）的资金，以继续对抗俄罗斯。

乌克兰总统表示：“这场战争明年将耗资1550亿欧元（1740亿美元）。我们还需要你们至少700亿欧元——用于国防、武器和增强我们的抵抗能力。”

“这是一个合理的数额。我请求你们寻求这笔支持。这将有助于我们遏制俄罗斯。”

半岛电视台记者罗西·伯查德在布鲁塞尔峰会现场报道称，泽连斯基向欧洲发出“充满感情的呼吁”，请求支持，其中防空系统是他“愿望清单”上的首要事项。

伯查德说，泽连斯基呼吁欧洲各国动用本国储备，帮助乌克兰应对寒冷的冬季。“但当然，这意味着一些欧洲国家可能会因此损害自身的国家安全。”

我们与你同在

爱沙尼亚总理克里斯滕·米哈尔告诉路透社，欧盟可能不得不向乌克兰提供新的贷款，以帮助其弥补明年的预算缺口。

“去年冬天已经够难熬了，今年冬天又会像地狱一样，”米哈尔说。

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩承诺，欧盟将继续在冬季为乌克兰提供支持。

“俄罗斯正竭尽全力破坏我们的能源和水利基础设施。但我们与你们站在一起。我们将像以往的冬天一样支持你们，”她说道。

然而，奥地利敦促各方在讨论对乌克兰做出新的、影响深远的财政承诺时保持谨慎。

奥地利总理克里斯蒂安·斯托克表示：“现在有很多数字被拿出来讨论，我们需要将它们放在合适的背景下，解释它们的含义，并明确指出这一缺口来自哪里。”

半岛电视台记者伯查德表示，欧洲各国对泽连斯基的普遍声援与近期来自华盛顿的消息形成了鲜明对比。“至少，他现在又一次回到了朋友身边，”她说。

不过，伯查德补充说，据说一些欧洲官员私下里呼吁泽连斯基“缓和”他对特朗普的公开批评，他们担心这可能会让欧洲人陷入困境。

“当然，他们（欧洲官员）想表明他们与乌克兰关系密切，支持泽连斯基，但他们也不想激怒美国，”她说。

周五的峰会召开之际，俄罗斯的空袭在哈尔科夫造成三人死亡，并导致乌克兰数十万人断电。

克里姆林宫上周表示，乌克兰在上个月的选举期间用无人机袭击莫斯科，破坏了立即恢复和平谈判的可能性。