Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday that he will meet with US President Donald Trump this week during the UN General Assembly in New York. This meeting follows a recent phone conversation between the two leaders, signaling ongoing diplomatic engagement.
The report emerged several days after Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, visited Kyiv for the first time since the war began.
Earlier this week, the Kyiv Independent reported that the Ukrainian government was becoming “increasingly frustrated” with White House envoy Steve Witkoff. Umerov told Axios that the report was false.
The meeting is scheduled days after Trump signed a Russia sanctions bill and approved the largest US arms deal with Ukraine since taking office. Ukrainian chief negotiator and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov said that he has been working with White House envoys in recent days to arrange the meeting, which is expected to take place on Tuesday, according to Axios. Both measures had been sought by Kyiv for several months.
Zelensky said Ukraine is prepared to take “really serious steps” towards reaching a de-escalation agreement with Russia. Source familiar with the conversation said Trump repeatedly urged Zelensky to halt Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, which have contributed to higher global diesel prices, according to Axios.
