Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will urge US President Donald Trump to impose fresh sanctions on Russia when the two leaders meet at the United Nations in New York next week. Speaking in Kyiv, Zelenskyy called on Ukraine’s allies to “stop wasting time” and warned that further measures should follow if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet him or agree to a ceasefire.
“If the war continues and there are no moves towards peace, we expect sanctions,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to take action against Moscow but has yet to follow through. Last week he said the United States was prepared to “do major sanctions” but only after all NATO members agreed to halt oil imports from Russia and impose tariffs on China, another significant buyer.
Zelenskyy criticised linking US sanctions to European action, describing it as a way of “slowing down the pressure on Putin”. He said: “President Trump expects strong action from Europe. I think we are wasting a lot of time if sanctions are not imposed or some steps are not taken, that we very much expect from him.”
Hungary and Slovakia, both close to Trump, remain the only EU states still purchasing Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Ukraine struck the pipeline last month, prompting condemnation from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Zelenskyy said he wanted “the whole of Europe” to impose sanctions and believed Trump could persuade reluctant governments, including Slovakia’s pro-Russian administration, to act.
The Ukrainian leader reiterated his willingness to meet Putin in any format, including trilateral talks with Trump. The Kremlin has said “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed before such a meeting, referring to Ukraine’s surrender.
During his visit to New York, Zelenskyy will also seek clarity on US security guarantees as part of any peace settlement. He noted that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had raised the issue with Trump during the president’s recent state visit to the UK.
Zelenskyy confirmed that his wife, Olena, would “most likely” meet US First Lady Melania Trump in New York to discuss the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia. Melania Trump is regarded in Kyiv as more sympathetic to Ukraine than her husband, who clashed with Zelenskyy during a February meeting in Washington. Their most recent talks, in August, were described as more productive, with several European leaders, including Starmer, in attendance.
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions in Europe, after three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace on Friday. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was stepping up long-range drone strikes on Russian energy facilities supplying the military. On Saturday, drones hit the Saratov oil refinery for the second time in a week, while another strike damaged a refinery in Samara oblast.
He predicted Russia’s fuel shortages would worsen and said Ukraine was narrowing the gap with Moscow in drone production, but required additional funding to expand domestic weapons manufacturing.
Overnight, Russia launched a large-scale drone and ballistic missile attack on Ukraine. At least three people were killed when a missile carrying cluster munitions struck a residential building in Dnipro. Other regions, including Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia, were also targeted.
Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of pursuing a “deliberate strategy” to terrorise civilians and destroy infrastructure. “A strong international response is needed,” he said, urging Europe to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences and increase weapons supplies.
