- Category
- World
Zelenskyy Reportedly to Request Patriot Missiles, Propose Energy Truce in UN Talks with Trump
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he plans to push for a mutual energy ceasefire with Russia, Reuters reported on September 22.
The high-stakes meeting comes as Ukrainians brace for intensified Russian winter attacks on their domestic heating and power grids.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
In a post on X on September 21, Zelenskyy expressed cautious optimism following a phone call with Trump, noting “diplomatic momentum” and proposing that if Russia ceases attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector and food exports, Ukraine will take “matching de-escalation steps.”
Indeed, this Russian war against Ukraine and against common sense must be ended. From the first year of the full-scale invasion, its consequences have been far-reaching: the loss of many lives, the destruction of cities and villages, food security, energy challenges, the… https://t.co/bguBQDfSYq
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 21, 2026
In recent weeks, both nations have ramped up aerial campaigns, with Russian strikes battering Ukrainian port facilities and energy infrastructure, while Ukraine has successfully responded by crippling portions of Russia’s vital oil refining industry through long-range drone strikes, Reuters wrote.
For Trump, the diplomatic push is heavily influenced by domestic politics, according to Reuters. Facing low approval ratings and soaring global diesel and gas prices just weeks before the November midterm elections, Trump has been highly critical of the Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries.
Reuters reports that Trump posted on Truth Social on September 21 that “Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil industry due to its War with Ukraine,” adding that “the whole World suffers” and calling for an end to the war.
According to sources familiar with the discussions who spoke to Reuters, Trump has directly asked Zelenskyy to halt the refinery attacks. However, Kyiv remains reluctant to abandon its deep-strike campaign—which recently forced the shutdown of a major Moscow refinery—viewing the systemic damage to Russia’s lucrative energy sector as its strongest leverage to force Moscow to negotiate.
The prospects for a lasting energy truce remain highly unlikely. Trump claimed last week that both sides had agreed to stop striking energy targets, but that arrangement evaporated within a day after Russia bombed petrol stations in Kyiv and Ukraine retaliated against Russian oil infrastructure, Reuters noted.
Critics also note that Trump’s push for an energy truce in Ukraine serves as a deflection from his administration’s war with Iran, which has significantly spiked global oil prices.
If Russia refuses to de-escalate, Reuters notes that Zelenskyy is expected to pivot the discussion toward securing more US-made Patriot air defense missiles, which are currently in severe short supply worldwide, to counter Russia’s escalating barrage of ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones ahead of the winter freeze.
Ukraine’s Third Army Corps had recently destroyed a key fuel pipeline running from Russia’s Voronezh region that supplied 50% of the daily diesel for Russian troops in occupied Luhansk. The strike forced Russian supply trucks on a 400-kilometer detour back into Russia for fuel, triggering immediate shortages that disrupted frontline drone operations and electronic warfare systems.
Discuss this article:
-9a7b3a98ed5c506e0b77a6663f5727c5.png)
-5f84711170d2769c4cda67ca2bebf5d2.jpg "Carpathian 8 Summit: Ukraine Leads Push for Security & Regional Growth")
-074d33c70590226f6d1d6765f9d72107.png "How Pro-Kremlin Accounts Used a False Claim About UNITED24 to Target Ed Sheeran")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")