Zelenskiy to Press Trump for Energy Truce at UN Meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, where he will press for an energy truce with Russia.

Kyiv is seeking to halt strikes on its power and heating infrastructure before winter, fearing that Moscow is preparing a sustained campaign against these facilities. The push follows months of intensifying aerial exchanges that have damaged ports, warehouses, ships and energy assets, and disrupted Black Sea exports.

After a phone call with Trump on Sunday, Zelenskiy said he saw "diplomatic momentum" and "ideas for de-escalation steps". Writing on X on Monday, he said Ukraine's energy sector, critical infrastructure and food exports must stop being targets for Russia, adding that this would lead to matching steps from Kyiv. Russia, which possesses greater missile firepower, has not indicated it is willing to pause the air war.

Trump has voiced concern about the extensive damage inflicted on Russian oil refineries by Ukrainian drone attacks. Last week he announced that both sides had agreed not to strike energy targets, but the understanding quickly unravelled when Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv the next day and Ukraine bombed a Russian refinery.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said Russia had "lost control of its Diesel Oil industry" because of the war and that "the whole World suffers", adding that the conflict "must be ended". A person familiar with the matter said an energy ceasefire was among the topics under discussion and that Trump had asked Zelenskiy to stop attacks on Russian refineries as part of a broader de-escalation effort.

Kyiv is reluctant to act alone, viewing the damage it is inflicting on Russia's oil industry as its main lever to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack killed three people and struck a Moscow oil refinery during a tightly controlled Russian election that consolidated the ruling United Russia party's grip on parliament. The Kremlin is expected to present the results as evidence of public support for President Vladimir Putin's policies and the war.

The relationship between Zelenskiy and Trump has fluctuated since the US president took office and ended his predecessor's large-scale military aid for Ukraine. A February 2025 meeting between the two leaders descended into a shouting match in the Oval Office, while their UN meeting last year prompted an abrupt rhetorical shift in which Trump said Ukraine could expel Russia from all its territory.

On Tuesday, Zelenskiy is also expected to discuss how Ukraine can obtain US-made Patriot air defence missiles for the winter if Russia does not de-escalate, according to a source familiar with the matter. Russia has sharply increased its use of jet-powered drones in recent months and in July fired the largest number of ballistic missiles at Ukraine in a single month since the war began. Those missiles can only be intercepted by Patriots, which are in short supply.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also expected in New York and is due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.