Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday appealed to his allies to “stop wasting time” in responding to Russian aggression and announced his plans to press US President Donald Trump for new sanctions on Moscow when they meet next week at the UN.
Zelenskyy, who will be in New York, stated that he will urge the US to impose further measures if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to engage in peace talks or agree to a ceasefire. He criticized Trump’s current approach of tying US action to Europe’s first cutting its reliance on Russian oil, saying that this stance “slows international pressure on Putin.”
The Ukrainian leader specifically called on the US to push Trump allies Hungary and Slovakia, which remain the last EU members buying Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, to stop. “Everyone is looking to the United States,” he said.
The appeal comes amidst a significant escalation of violence. Three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace on Friday, while Ukraine expanded its drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, hitting the Saratov refinery for the second time in a week. In retaliation, Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone assault overnight across Ukraine, with a cluster munition missile striking an apartment block in Dnipro, killing at least three people. Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and called for a “strong international response.”
Beyond his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said he remains open to a “one-to-one” meeting with Putin or a three-way format that includes Trump. However, the Kremlin has insisted that the “root causes” of the conflict, a reference to Ukraine surrendering territory, must be addressed first. His wife, Olena Zelenska, may also meet with Melania Trump to discuss the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.