Trump meets Zelenskyy, suggests a Ukraine deal on Russia's war could be close

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump and said he trusted that the White House can help end Russia’s 4½-year war on his country — even as attacks from both sides keep escalating.

“I hope that we will end this war, and President Trump will help us help us end this war,” Zelenskyy said, joining Trump at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where the Ukrainian president was meeting with world leaders.

That meeting occurred after Russian missiles and drones struck at least four Ukrainian regions overnight, strikes that officials said killed five people.

Zelenskyy also said that his country’s forces had damaged two more Russian oil refineries in their latest long-range strikes. The continuing exchange of aerial attacks, even as front-line positions remain largely unchanged.

Trump previously had called on Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are contributing to global shortages and higher prices. The supply crunch has also been aggravated by reduced oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the Iran war.

Trump and Zelenskyy briefly addressed reporters before heading behind closed doors. The U.S. president was asked about the Ukrainian strikes and called them “a serious hit on the Russians, but also a serious hit on the price of diesel” which he noted had “gone up quite a bit.”

Trump added that he and Zelenskyy would further discuss the matter privately.

While seeking reelection in 2024, Trump once argued that he could in virtually no time broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which instead has carried on. Russia invaded Ukraine more than 4½ years ago. Still, Trump said Tuesday, “I think we’re going to make a deal” to quell the fighting.

“We talked about it a lot, including with President Putin,” Trump said of a possible agreement, meaning Russian leader Vladmir Putin. “And I think something’s going to happen.”

Putin is not scheduled to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting this year. Asked about the possibility of Zelenskyy, Putin and Trump meeting during the upcoming G20 gathering in Florida in December, Trump was noncommittal.

In subsequent, solo comments to reporters, Zelenskyy said he was ready to sit down with both leaders but suggested that Putin might balk because he’s not really ready to end the war. He also noted that Ukraine has continued to push the U.S. for more Patriot air defense systems in its efforts to defend itself, but has yet to get clear answers.

“They are positive to help us, but I didn’t get the very concrete answer,” Zelenskyy said.

Defense experts say the U.S. has been experiencing a global shortage of Patriot interceptors because many have been expended to defend against Iranian attacks on U.S. and allied bases in Middle East.

Zelenskyy was also asked about the risk of offensive attacks by drones, missiles or land operations ordered by Moscow that could be high against other countries that border Russia or Belarus. He said such neighboring countries should “respond — always respond” to defend themselves.

“If you don’t respond,” he added, “Russians, they will go further.”

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Zelenskyy says Ukraine may end strikes if Russia makes concessions

Kyiv began targeting Russian refineries after Moscow repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s power grid. Zelenskyy says his country could halt them should Russia end its attacks on energy infrastructure.

The war, which Western officials say has killed more than 500,000 Russian troops, has had global repercussions. Western analysts estimate that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

Zelenskyy also wants help to ensure the flow of Ukrainian grain and other farm products to world markets through the Black Sea. Russian attacks on cargo vessels have severely disrupted Kyiv’s exports, hurting its economy and threatening global supplies.

Russia and Ukraine have in recent years accounted for around 30% of the world’s wheat exports and 12% of corn exports, most of it shipped through the Black Sea. But last month, attacks slashed both countries’ agricultural exports by two-thirds, Thomas de Waal of the Brussels-based think tank Carnegie Europe said in a report Tuesday.

“The lack of that grain in world markets puts several African countries at risk of famine, while world cereal prices, already pushed up by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, could rise even higher,” de Waal said.

Zelenskyy takes de-escalation proposals to New York

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France would provide Ukraine with additional radar systems to help protect its power grid.

Macron said in a social media post that he had discussed with Trump a possible truce between Moscow and Kyiv that would halt strikes on energy infrastructure, as well as a “moratorium” on attacks in the Black Sea.

Zelenskyy began his visit to New York by meeting with U.S. senators. He thanked them for what he described as strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and for backing a tougher sanctions bill against Russia that Trump signed into law.

Peace and security would be closer once the legislation was fully implemented, Zelenskyy said. He said on social media that he had briefed senators on de-escalation proposals he was discussing privately with Trump.

In Kyiv, Iryna Panina awoke around 2 a.m. on Tuesday as a jet-powered Russian drone approached her home. The blast shattered a window and left her apartment covered in debris.

Panina, 36, said she had lost hope in international efforts to secure peace.

“As an ordinary person just trying to live and survive each day, I find it hard to believe they fully understand what’s actually happening, how hard it is, and how much ordinary people are suffering,” she told The Associated Press.

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Ukraine hits a Russian oil refinery

Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian special forces struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, southeast of Moscow, and another refinery in the neighboring Bashkortostan region in overnight attacks.

One person was killed and four others were wounded in the Samara attack, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. He said that “the enemy targeted industrial facilities,” but didn’t specify which ones.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday said that its forces downed 297 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions overnight, as well as the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine included anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and more than 200 drones, Ukraine’s air force said.

The strikes killed four people in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. A drone also killed a woman in the northern Sumy region, local police said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces struck metallurgical and chemical industries, the fuel and energy sector, and the military-industrial complex, as well as port infrastructure facilities in four regions of Ukraine.