UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, where he will push for an energy truce with Russia.
Ukrainians fear Russia is gearing up to pound heating and power facilities this winter following intensifying aerial attacks by both sides that have battered ports, warehouses, ships and energy infrastructure, as well as crippling Black Sea exports.
After speaking to Trump by phone on Sunday, Zelenskiy noted what he described as “diplomatic momentum” and “ideas for de-escalation steps”, although Russia, which has more missile firepower, has not signalled it seeks to pause the air war.
“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. Solutions are possible,” Zelenskiy wrote on X on Monday.
Trump, whose approval ratings have slumped to a record low amid high gas prices ahead of the US midterm elections in November, has expressed concern over the extensive damage done to Russian oil refineries that have been pummelled by Ukrainian drone attacks.
Trump announced last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to strike energy targets, but any semblance of a truce disappeared when Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv the following day and Ukraine bombed a Russian oil refinery.
Some critics see Trump’s focus on the Ukraine conflict as a deflection from his war on Iran, which has led to a significant spike in global energy prices.
Zelenskiy’s meeting with Trump will take place at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also expected in New York and due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.
RUSSIA ‘HAS LOST CONTROL’
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that “Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil industry due to its War with Ukraine” and “the whole World suffers”.
“This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended,” Trump wrote.
A person familiar with the matter said an energy ceasefire was one of the topics under discussion and that Trump had asked Zelenskiy to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries as part of a broader effort to de-escalate the conflict.
Kyiv is loath to act alone, however, seeing the extensive damage it is inflicting on Russia’s vital oil industry as its best way of forcing Moscow to the negotiating table.
On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone attack killed three people and pounded a Moscow oil refinery during a tightly controlled Russian election that consolidated the ruling United Russia party’s grip on parliament.
The Kremlin is widely expected to present the results of that vote as evidence of public backing for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policies and for the war.
MEETING HARD TO PREDICT
The volatile chemistry between Zelenskiy and Trump has seen their relations see-saw since the US president took office last year and ended his predecessor’s huge US-funded military aid for Ukraine.
In February 2025, a meeting between the two leaders descended into a shouting match in the Oval Office, while their meeting at the United Nations last year triggered an abrupt rhetorical shift by Trump in Zelenskiy’s favour in which he said Ukraine could expel Russia from all Ukrainian territory.
On Tuesday, Zelenskiy will also discuss with Trump how Ukraine can source US-made Patriot air defence missiles for the winter if Russia is not prepared to de-escalate, a source familiar with the matter said.
Russia has significantly ramped up the use of jet-powered drones to attack Ukraine in recent months and in July fired the largest number of ballistic missiles at Ukraine in a single month since the start of the war.
The latter is a huge problem for Ukraine as they can only be intercepted by Patriot air defence missiles that are in short supply.
(Additional reporting by John Irish and Dan Flynn; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Lincoln Feast.)
