Speaking on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said: "It's painful when President [Donald] Trump chooses one side, not our side." His comments come amid a reported disruption of Starlink and Starshield services on October 13-14, which wrongfooted Ukraine's military. Service was later restored, and reports that the restrictions were imposed at the White House's behest to pressure Kyiv remained unconfirmed. On Friday, Zelenskyy accused Washington of continuing to throttle Starlink and promising the Russians new concessions.
The tensions are linked to Trump's much-discussed diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, which has drawn bipartisan opposition in Congress, including from Republican senators. Trump has tilted toward Moscow before, notably at his August 2025 summit in Anchorage, Alaska, only to return to conditional support for Ukraine amid Russian intransigence and diplomatic efforts by Kyiv and European leaders. The arrangement under which Europe pays for US weapons delivered to Ukraine is still working, and the US continues to share intelligence with Kyiv despite reports that some critical information has been withheld.
Meanwhile, the White House has walked back proposals to recognise Crimea as de jure Russian, floated in its April 2025 peace framework, or to require Kyiv to withdraw from the entirety of its Donbas region. Ukraine and Europe have continued to go along with Trump's diplomatic overtures to Moscow, led by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
For Kyiv, the immediate concern is the intensification of Russian attacks. Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure are coming under daily strikes from ballistic missiles and upgraded jet-propelled drones, while air defences struggle. The country is bracing for yet another tough winter. A propaganda war has unfolded in parallel, fuelled by the diesel deal. Unlike Ukraine, Russia never embraced Trump's proposal for a partial ceasefire on strikes against energy facilities, yet Moscow is now portraying Kyiv as the spoiler after Ukrainian attacks resumed, including an attack on a refinery in Ryazan on Thursday which Trump slammed as "a disgrace".
Fighting has spilled over onto NATO's eastern flank, with ships transporting Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea attacked in Romanian waters. Russia is expanding hybrid attacks in Europe to disrupt supplies of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine and sway public opinion in key countries such as Germany. In some European Union corners, there is a push to re-engage with Moscow: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed that the Slovak-Russian intergovernmental economic commission would resume work, and Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev praised Trump's diesel diplomacy, even as Russian drones carried out strikes near Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
Funding remains another headache for Europeans. The 90-billion-euro loan the EU authorised in April might be exhausted well before the end of 2027. Some estimates suggest Kyiv would require an additional 70 billion euros for defence and civilian purposes in 2027, threatening to open a can of worms for EU member states negotiating the bloc's 2028-2034 budget, with some calling for deep cuts in spending.