Key takeaways
- Zelenskiy said on 16 October that the US purchase of Russian diesel would put money into Putin's pocket to fund the war.
- European leaders backed Kyiv and refused sanctions relief, but the Brussels summit ended without agreement on his €70 billion request for 2027.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe cannot replace Starlink capability for Ukraine in the short term.
On Friday, 16 October 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised a US purchase of Russian diesel agreed by President Donald Trump. Speaking in Brussels on the sidelines of a two-day European Union leaders' summit, he said the deal would put "more money straight into Putin's pocket to fund this war." He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not want peace talks at the moment, in any form." He called Moscow's responses "a parody of a genuine desire to end the war."
According to RTE, Zelenskiy said the diesel deal would never be enough to offset the impact of the Strait of Hormuz on global markets, and would put more money straight into Putin's pocket to fund the war. He welcomed the prospect of European governments opening their own channel to Moscow, saying he hoped for "a certain format to speak with the Russians." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Zelenskiy "doesn't want to take responsibility and enter a peaceful settlement process" and added: "Here, we fully agree with President Trump's point of view."
What European leaders offered in Brussels
Zelenskiy thanked the European Council, the European Commission and EU leaders. He called them "real leaders" who had stayed with Ukraine from the start of the war. European officials backed that in words. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, according to RTTNews, that the EU is working on its 22nd sanctions package and that it "will not lift any sanctions unless Russia stops the war." European Council President António Costa said: "This is no time to relieve Russia's sanctions." French President Emmanuel Macron said the diesel deal "is not good for anyone" and called it "an element of division and doubt," according to Reuters.
Money was less settled. Zelenskiy told leaders the war will cost €155 billion next year. He said Ukraine needs "at least €70 billion more" from Europe for defence, weapons and resilience. Macron and Costa said the Commission would evaluate proposals, but the summit ended without an agreement. Politico reported that leaders left decisions on Ukraine's financial needs to further summits in November and December.
Observers are reading: a breakdown of which US-supplied capabilities Europe has said it cannot yet replace, and what Brussels has so far left unfunded.
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What the summit had settled by 16 October
As of Friday, European leaders had offered Kyiv political backing, a continued refusal to lift sanctions on Russia, and a commitment to evaluate its funding request. They had not offered an agreed budget or a replacement for the US intelligence, satellite and air defence support that Zelenskiy described as under pressure. Whether Europe can build the negotiating format he asked for was not answered at the summit.
The war continued alongside the talks. Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv killed at least two people on 16 October, according to local officials, and other Russian strikes left hundreds of thousands of people without power, Reuters reported. Winter is approaching, and the Commission's evaluation of the €70 billion request is the next point to watch.
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