The appeal follows a Financial Times interview in which Zelensky criticized Trump's agreements with Russia on diesel fuel supplies, condemned cuts to U.S. intelligence support and said Trump sympathizes with autocrats and very wealthy people.

The Financial Times reported, citing three sources familiar with preparations for the summit, that EU leaders intend to press Zelensky to soften his public criticism of the U.S. president. The meeting is scheduled for October 16 in Brussels, the newspaper said.

EU officials fear that sharp statements from Zelensky could further worsen relations between Washington and Kyiv. One of the FT's interlocutors described the message to the Ukrainian president as "sympathetic but firm," adding: "It may be true, but it is not necessarily worth saying out loud."

In the interview, Zelensky said of Trump: "He openly and loudly declares that he loves such people and respects them. After all, in his opinion, if a person is able to remain a leader for 20, 30 or 40 years, it means he possesses enormous power."

The Ukrainian president also said that Kyiv, despite halting strikes on Russian oil refineries, again received no warning from allies about Russian ballistic missile attacks. He also noted restrictions in the operation of Starlink satellite communication terminals and rejected the explanation of a technical failure: "It was not a technical problem, it was a decision."

Earlier, Axios sources reported that at talks on October 9 between Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and the Ukrainian side, threats were made to stop the transfer of American intelligence data if Kyiv did not fulfill the U.S. president's request to halt strikes on Russian refineries. CNN also reported that the White House warned Ukraine and its European allies of its readiness to suspend the transfer of intelligence information and the sale of weapons if Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities continued. Semafor, citing a source, wrote that the U.S. administration is discussing whether to continue passing intelligence data to Ukraine.

Trump, for his part, claimed that the United States had not stopped passing intelligence data to Ukraine and continues to work with Moscow and Kyiv on settling the conflict.