European leaders on Friday rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as ties between Kyiv and US President Donald Trump deteriorated after Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing diesel onto global markets. Zelensky ordered renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries despite Washington’s demands, which Trump called a “disgrace” while saying he found Zelensky more difficult to deal with than Putin. Kyiv’s anger has also been fuelled by disruptions to the Starshield satellite system from SpaceX, which Musk said his company did not cause and whose usage limits are set by the US military. EU leaders will discuss how to keep Ukraine funded, as a 90-billion-euro loan covers only until the end of 2027, and calls to use about 200 billion euros in frozen Russian central bank assets remain blocked by Belgium.
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