Ukrainian President Zelenskyy speaks at EU summit amid spat with Donald Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was applauded by EU leaders when he appeared at this week's summit in Brussels. But getting what he needs from Europe will be tough, and a public dispute with US President Donald Trump has put him in a very difficult position.

Speaking to press at the summit, he said that "Putin wants to destroy us" and that Ukraine must prepare for a hard winter.

Experts view the upcoming cold season as a rough one for Ukraine as well.

"Ukraine is arguably entering the most difficult winter since [Russia's] full scale invasion ," Olena Prokopenko, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a nonpartisan think-tank, told DW.

Three painful topics were on the table at the summit for discussion between Zelenskyy and EU leaders: US relations with Russia, Starlink ― and money.

Zelenskyy's visit to Brussels comes at a time when he needs European support more than ever. That's because his relationship with the US is worsening. Worries are growing in the EU and Ukraine that the US is growing more sympathetic to Russia.

President Trump told US news channel Newsmax: "I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

Trump struck a deal to buy Russian diesel on October 12, which signifies a step back from sanctions placed on Russia and a blow for Ukraine.