Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided a surprise reaction when asked whether Donald Trump is “scapegoating” him as tensions between the two world leaders soar. The Ukrainian leader was asked by Sky News if he believes he is being made a scapegoat for Trump’s domestic problems and plummeting popularity ahead of the challenging midterm elections. In response, Zelensky looked down at the podium in silence for a total of 15 seconds before he eventually smirked and said: “This is my answer”.
Speaking at the European Council summit in Brussels today, the Ukrainian president asked the EU for another €70billion next year to fund Ukraine’s defence against Russia amidst escalating friction with the Trump administration over US policy decisions and a controversial Russian diesel deal.
He also brushed aside Trump’s scathing comments, who said he was “more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”. Zelensky insisted he is “standing up for Ukraine’s interests”.
“It’s more difficult to deal with me than with Putin?” he asked reporters at the EU summit in Brussels on Friday. “He wants to annihilate us. We have a right to defend ourselves. We will stand tall.”
Zelensky published his remarks he delivered earlier to EU leaders behind closed doors where he first thanked European leaders for their support in the face of the tensions between Ukraine and the US.
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv have escalated over the past week (Image: Getty)
“We’ve been through a lot together – during these years of full-scale war…I am grateful to all of you who are trying to keep Europe and the United States together,” said Zelensky.
Over the past week, relations between Washington and Kyiv have escalated following Trump’s u-turn on lifting sanctions on Russia diesel in a bid to bring down oil prices and calling for Zelenskyy to be replaced.
Zelensky acknowledged this controversial deal in his remarks: “We can see how cash will start flowing back into Russia through the ‘Diesel Deal’…This ‘Diesel Deal’ will never be enough to offset the impact of the Strait of Hormuz on global markets. But it will put more money straight into Putin’s pocket to fund this war.”
This comes after the 80-year-old US leader announced that Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately “to the American and global marketplace” followed by several other shipments.
The move sparked a furious response from Zelensky, who accused Trump of handing the Kremlin a “gift” and prolonging the war. He wrote on social media that the deal “plays into Russia’s hands – allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world.”