US President Donald Trump has renewed his sharp criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian leader is “more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.

Speaking to US media on Thursday evening, Trump also called Ukraine’s fresh wave of strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace”.

Zelensky, who is in Brussels for a summit with EU leaders, had paused the attacks for three days at Trump’s request for a ceasefire on energy targets, but said on Thursday the strikes would resume because Moscow had never stopped.

Meanwhile, deadly attacks on Ukraine continued overnight, with several people killed in a Russian drone strike in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said.

At least 19 people were injured, Oleg Synegubov wrote on Telegram.

Zelensky has not commented on Trump’s latest criticism. He arrived at the summit in Brussels flanked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.

“Of course we supported President Trump’s energy ceasefire but we’ve seen that Russia did not respect it, not a single minute,” Von der Leyen told reporters. “Russia escalated and therefore we have to increase sanctions on Russia… We will not lift any sanctions unless Russia stops the war.”

Moscow said it had never agreed to the energy ceasefire that Trump suddenly announced last week.

The EU summit’s agenda will focus on funding for Ukraine, and helping it get through another cold winter – the fifth since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“Russia is trying everything to destroy the energy and water infrastructure,” Von der Leyen told Zelensky before the summit began, “but we stand by your side, we support you as we did in the other winters.”

Zelensky said his country wants the war to end “as quick as possible”, but added that Russia is not showing signals that it wants the same thing.

“That’s why we have to prepare for the winter. A winter package is not only energy, it’s also defence and fundings,” he said.

Trump’s comments about Zelensky, during an interview with US outlet Newsmax, reflect the deteriorating relationship between the US and Ukraine.

The US president said he is “not a big fan of Zelensky” and that he is “not a good guy for us to deal with.

“He doesn’t want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t,” Trump said.

“As you know, Putin hates Zelensky, and Zelensky hates Putin,” he added. “And when you have that kind of hatred, it’s very hard to get something settled.”

When asked about Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, Trump said it was “a disgrace”.

“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher… There are a lot of targets that you can hit.”

Trump is frustrated at Ukraine’s continued targeting of Russian oil refineries because the US recently announced a deal to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel to the American market, in an effort to bring down fuel prices.

That deal, in turn, infuriated Zelensky, who called it a gift to Putin.

Zelensky’s anger was heightened earlier this week, when restrictions were placed on the US-owned Starlink internet network, which is critical for Kyiv’s military abilities to defend itself against Russian attacks.

On Tuesday night, when the communications network was limited, there were several deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine, with residents and the government saying there was no prior warning of the incoming attack.

The Trump administration had previously warned that it could withhold intelligence sharing – which is crucial for Ukraine’s defences – if Kyiv does not stop hitting Russia’s oil refineries.

Zelensky has been holding back-to-back talks with EU leaders while in Brussels. On Thursday he met Nato chief Marke Rutte, as well as the leaders of Poland, France, Denmark and Belgium.

A day earlier, he met UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at No 10 in London.

At the summit on Friday, Zelensky said he would hold talks with the chiefs of the European Council and European Commission, and the prime ministers of Hungary, Finland, and Sweden.

Ukraine also continued its strikes against Russia overnight. The airspace above Moscow was closed for several house, causing flight delays, as 644 drones were intercepted above 26 Russian regions, the defence ministry said.

Ninety-four Ukrainian drones were shot down as they approached Moscow, the mayor said. And in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow, the governor said that Ukrainian drones were intercepted to prevent an attack on heating infrastructure in the area.