Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Zelensky, Trump to meet Tuesday, source says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday afternoon, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP.
Both leaders are due to take part in the United Nations General Assembly. The planned meeting comes as Washington pushes for fresh direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the four-and-a-half-year war.
Washington-led efforts to broker a deal have stalled in recent months, while Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other. Kyiv has hit a number of Russian oil refineries.
Trump said Monday on his Truth Social platform that Russia had “lost control” over its oil industry and that “a large number” of diesel refineries had been blown up and were at least temporarily out of commission. He called for an end to the war.
Zelensky said in response on X that there were “ideas on the table for bringing peace closer, starting with strong de-escalation steps”. He said Ukraine's energy sector, critical infrastructure and food exports must stop being targets for Russia, which he said would lead to matching de-escalation steps by Ukraine.
Trump said last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities, a day after he criticised Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries.
In a call with Zelensky on Sunday, Trump mentioned a request for Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian refineries but “didn't demand it”, the source told AFP. The source said the issue was part of a discussion on de-escalation measures.
Zelensky said on September 20 that he and Trump had agreed to meet in New York after a phone call, saying the meeting “could change a lot”.
Update
Trump said Russia had “lost control” over its oil industry and said some diesel refineries were temporarily out of commission.
Zelensky said there were ideas on the table for bringing peace closer, starting with de-escalation steps.
Zelensky said Ukraine's energy sector, critical infrastructure and food exports must stop being Russian targets, leading to matching Ukrainian steps.
A source told AFP that Trump mentioned, but did not demand, a request for Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian refineries during a Sunday call with Zelensky.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 13:49:09 UTC.
Update
A source with knowledge of the matter told AFP the meeting is planned for sometime on Tuesday afternoon.
The item states both leaders will be in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 13:20:40 UTC.
Update
A source with knowledge of the matter told AFP that Zelensky and Trump will meet in New York on Tuesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 September 2026 at 13:09:52 UTC.
Update
Zelensky said the conversation had diplomatic momentum.
The planned meeting comes as Washington pushes for fresh face-to-face peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
US-led efforts to end the war have stalled in recent months, while Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range strikes on each other.
There was no immediate public comment from Trump on Zelensky's remarks.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 September 2026 at 18:47:35 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The planned meeting is attributed to a source with knowledge of the matter; no public schedule confirmation from both leaders is supplied.
The supplied material does not establish the exact agenda or expected outcome of the meeting.
Trump's statement that Ukraine and Russia agreed not to target each other's energy facilities is presented as his claim.
Source
AFP news report published on .