Brussels, Belgium - Senior European leaders have rallied behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following the latest demand by President Donald Trump that he be removed from office. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Zelensky that the Ukrainian president was leading his people's fight for freedom and that she had assured him of her full support.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: "France will continue to stand by Ukraine and President Zelensky." He said he also spoke with Zelensky on Sunday.

The calls came after fresh tensions between Trump and Zelensky. The US president claimed on Saturday that Zelensky had repeatedly had the opportunity to end the war in Ukraine and had chosen not to. 

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"I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president," Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday. 

Zelensky had previously sharply criticized a lifting of sanctions on the sale of Russian diesel agreed between the US and Russia, calling it "an investment in the war, which must be ended, not prolonged."

Von der Leyen also announced that Ukraine's difficult situation would be a central topic at the upcoming EU leaders' summit on Thursday and Friday. 

"We will discuss its funding needs for the year ahead and how to mobilize fresh global support," her statement on X said on Sunday evening.

The EU would also provide additional funding this week for drones and missiles to strengthen Ukraine's defenses and protect the country's airspace, she said. Two further policy clusters were also to be opened in EU accession talks with Ukraine.

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In the phone call with Zelensky, von der Leyen also said she strongly supported his demand for a ceasefire that would protect global food supplies and energy infrastructure in both Ukraine and Russia. She was pessimistic, however, about the prospects for implementation.

"The war has entered a new, grimmer phase," she said. Russia was making no progress on the battlefield and was attacking civilians far behind the front lines.

Macron said Russia was currently blocking a ceasefire on attacks on energy facilities by stepping up its strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent hours.