Zelensky won the support of the European Union because Trump says the Ukrainian leader is more difficult to deal with than Putin.

The US president unleashed a new wave of sharp criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the EU leaders meeting in Brussels.

US President Donald Trump has renewed his harsh criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian leader is more difficult to deal with than Putin.

In an interview with the American media on Thursday evening, Trump called the new wave of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries a "disgrace".

Zelensky, who is in Brussels for a meeting with EU leaders, had halted the strikes for three days at Trump's request for a cease-fire on energy targets, but said on Thursday that 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 northeastern city of Kharkiv, the regional governor said.

Oleg Singubov wrote in Telegram that at least 14 people were injured.

Zelensky has not commented on Trump's latest criticism. He entered the Brussels meeting together with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and Antonio Costa, President of the European Council.

"Of course we supported President Trump's energy truce, but we saw that Russia did not respect it even for a minute," von der Leyen told reporters. "Russia escalated and so we have to increase sanctions against Russia... We will not lift any sanctions unless Russia stops the war."

After Zelensky said attacks would resume, Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the oil refinery

Why Moscow is talking tough about Trump's energy truce

Trump's comments about Zelensky in an interview with the American newspaper Newsmax indicate the deterioration of relations between the United States and Ukraine.

Trump said: Zelensky is not a good man to deal with. "He doesn't want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't," she added.

Asked about Ukraine's renewed attacks on Russian oil refineries, Trump said it was a "disgrace."

All he's doing is raising the world price of oil... There are so many targets you can hit.

Trump is frustrated by Ukraine's continued targeting of Russian oil refineries as the United States recently announced a deal to import 300,000 tons of Russian diesel into the U.S. market in an effort to lower fuel prices.

This deal in turn angered Zelensky, who called it a gift to Putin.

During his stay in Brussels, Zelenskiy held back-to-back talks with EU leaders. On Thursday, he met with NATO chief Mark Rutte, as well as the presidents of Poland, France, Denmark and Belgium.

The day before, he met British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Number 10 London.

At Friday's meeting, Zelenskiy said he would hold talks with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission and the prime ministers of Hungary, Finland and Sweden.