Babiš blasts Trump's diesel deal with Putin as 'slap' to Europe at EU summit in Brussels

Why it matters

The summit laid bare a widening split between European leaders and the Trump administration over how to handle Russia. By publicly criticising the US–Russia diesel arrangement as a 'slap' to Europe, Babiš turned what had been a transatlantic dispute into an EU-level confrontation. Zelensky's warnings that sanctions relief could cascade from diesel into gas, banking and frozen assets raised the political stakes for EU governments weighing their next move. Babiš's separate rejection of embedding €100 billion in Ukraine aid into the EU's long-term budget signalled that even pro-Ukraine members are pushing back on the financing mechanism. For Kyiv, the pressure from Washington — including reported threats to cut intelligence sharing and limits on Starlink — has narrowed the room to keep striking Russian oil infrastructure.

What happened

On 16 October 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels for an EU leaders' summit. Speaking to journalists, he said Russian dictator Vladimir Putin does not want real peace talks and is 'playing with words', calling it a parody of wanting to end the war, and accused Putin of wanting to destroy Ukraine and denying its sovereignty. Zelensky also warned that after the diesel deal, gas deals and sanctions relief could follow, and said Kyiv was not informed in advance about Washington's agreements with Moscow.

In a separate appearance at the summit, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš criticised Trump's deal with Putin on Russian diesel, calling it a 'slap' to Europe and saying Trump had effectively 'set up' the continent. He added that the Czech Republic would not bear responsibility for it, and that Europe should react more actively. He also said he opposes including €100 billion in Ukraine aid in the EU's long-term budget and prefers a loan funded outside the EU budget.

The summit took place against the backdrop of a series of reported US moves: a 9 October deal between Trump and Putin on Russian diesel supplies, an 11 October announcement of an energy ceasefire that Financial Times reported Ukraine had not been informed about, a 14 October confirmation by Zelensky that the US threatened to cut intelligence sharing if Ukrainian forces kept striking Russian refineries, and a 15 October Newsmax interview in which Trump called Zelensky 'not the right person to deal with'. In The Atlantic, journalist Simon Shuster wrote that Trump has shifted from mediator between Ukraine and Russia to a side doing deals with Moscow, leaving Zelensky facing a choice between accepting Trump's terms or continuing to fight with or without US support.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian outlets presented the summit as a moment where European allies were being forced to choose between the Trump administration's rapprochement with Moscow and continued support for Kyiv. They highlighted Babiš's public criticism of the diesel deal and Zelensky's warnings that the US was cutting Ukraine out of decisions affecting its own security. Zelensky's framing — that concessions on diesel would be followed by gas, banking and frozen-asset sanctions relief — was treated as the central warning of the day. Zelensky's call for additional air-defence missiles and his insistence that Ukraine 'continue to live and fight, the main thing is to live with dignity' were widely quoted.

Where reporting differs

Trump has stated that both sides agreed to an energy ceasefire, while the Financial Times reported that Ukraine was not informed about the arrangement. Babiš described Trump's deal with Russia as a 'slap' to Europe and accused Trump of setting the continent up, while Trump has positioned his deals as steps toward ending the war and has labelled Zelensky 'not the right person' to negotiate.

Background

Twelve US senators wrote to Trump calling his deal with Putin a 'betrayal of the Ukrainian people'. The Ukrainian campaign known as M&Ms has targeted Russian airports and aviation over Moscow with AI-enabled drones. EU leaders publicly assured Zelensky that sanctions against Russia will not be eased, even as the US has pushed to relax measures on Russia's 'shadow fleet'. The Trump–Putin agreement foresees the resumption of Russian diesel supplies to world markets and possible sanctions relief. The US did not warn Kyiv about Russian ballistic strikes on 12 and 13 October.