Zelensky meets Trump at UN amid push for Russia-Ukraine energy truce
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President Volodymyr Zelensky met his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in New York on Sept. 22 to discuss ceasefire proposals in Ukraine and a path toward ending Russia's invasion.
The two presidents are among the hundreds of world leaders and diplomats gathering in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, the highest-level forum to discuss global crises and challenges.
Zelensky said earlier he is bringing "concrete security proposals and de-escalation measures that could bring the end of the war closer."
The meeting, the first between the two leaders since July, comes amid Washington's renewed push to broker an end to the all-out Russia-Ukraine war, now ongoing for more than four and a half years.
These efforts hit a deadlock earlier this year amid Moscow's territorial demands and Washington's shift of focus toward its war with Iran.
Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky emphasized the need for "strong de-escalation steps" to bring the peace closer.
"Ukraine's energy sector, critical infrastructure, and our food exports must stop being targets for Russia, and this will lead to matching de-escalation steps on our part," Zelensky said on X.
He also warned that "it will no longer be the case that only the country under attack suffers. The nature of war is now such that the aggressor will suffer as well."
Trump, in turn, commented on Sept. 21 that the war has inflicted heavy damage to the Russian oil refining industry and urged an end to the fighting.
The U.S. president has previously linked Ukrainian strikes against Russian refineries to the surging global diesel prices — a claim disputed by experts — and asked Ukraine to cease its attacks against Russian diesel infrastructure.
The visit also comes shortly after Trump signed a major sanctions bill granting him authority to impose a 100% tariff on the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas, and after the U.S. State Department greenlit a possible $2.7 billion sale of air defenses to Ukraine.
In his address to the U.N. General Assembly earlier on Sept. 22, Trump vowed to deploy his new tariff authorities "if necessary" to bring the war to an end.
Despite the renewed diplomatic efforts, Zelensky has warned that the active phase of the war is likely to continue into the winter, when Moscow is expected to launch a new wave of attacks against Ukrainian cities and the energy grid.
Kyiv is seeking energy support and additional air defenses from international allies to weather the winter, and is leading talks on licenses to produce U.S.-designed Patriot interceptors in Ukraine.
