NEW YORK – US President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky are set to meet today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as the organization’s Security Council prepares to convene a critical gathering on maintaining peace and security in Ukraine.
The highly anticipated meeting comes as diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war have hit an impasse, and concerns are mounting that the conflict could spill over into NATO territory.
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Zelensky, who has described the week as “very intense week of diplomacy,” is in New York to lead a push for a US-backed peace proposal and to secure “robust action” from international partners.
While Trump has voiced frustration with the slow pace of negotiations, the Ukrainian leader remains committed to a diplomatic solution, offering to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure a ceasefire.
Diplomacy stalls as Russia intensifies attacks
However, despite Trump’s hopeful messages following his August summit with Putin in Alaska, Moscow has shown no willingness to make concessions. Instead, Russia has intensified its assault on Ukraine, launching some of its largest strikes of the war on cities like Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, killing and injuring dozens of civilians.
European leaders have warned that Putin is simply “playing for time,” using negotiations as a cover to advance his military objectives.
The war’s expansion beyond Ukraine’s borders is no longer a distant threat. Recent weeks have seen a series of alarming provocations.
Zelensky Approves 40-Day SBU Operation to Pressure Russia Into Ending War
On Sept. 9, Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO warplanes after crossing into Polish airspace. Ten days later, three Russian MiG-31s flew into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes, prompting Estonia to request urgent NATO Article 4 consultations.
Speaking to the Kyiv Post in New York, several European diplomats highlighted that they had informed their American colleagues about how Russia was testing NATO’s political and military response, aiming to reduce Western support for Ukraine by compelling countries to redirect resources toward the defense of alliance members.
The Kremlin has denied the incursions, but Estonian officials have released what they call “irrefutable evidence” of the airspace violation.
On Monday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Ukraine during his dinner with G7 foreign ministers, Western diplomats told Kyiv Post.
Rubio to attend Security Council meeting, addresses North Korea’s role
The UN Security Council meeting this afternoon will bring together top diplomats to address these escalating tensions. Marco Rubio will be in attendance.
On Monday, Rubio met with the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea, where the three leaders expressed “serious concerns” over North Korea’s increasing military cooperation with Russia.
The trilateral statement urged Moscow and Pyongyang to “immediately cease all such activities.”
Expert calls for offensive weapons to cripple Russia’s economy
The focus of the Trump-Zelensky meeting is expected to be on “security guarantees,” which Zelensky said he hopes will provide a “reliable shield” for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader said his country had “prepared the basis for security guarantees that Europe is ready to adopt, taking into account that the US will be there.”
Trump has hinted he is open to further sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, lamenting that Putin had “really let me down” in recent peace efforts.
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the humanitarian organization Hope for Ukraine, told Kyiv Post on Monday that the fastest way for Trump to help end the war is by “enabling the US to provide Ukraine with long-range offensive weapons.”
Boyechko explained that such weapons would allow Ukraine to more effectively target Russia’s oil infrastructure.
With 65 percent of Russia’s budget coming from oil revenues, he said, “the only way to force Putin to stop now is to cut off that revenue stream.”
He added that if Ukraine continues to target Russia’s oil infrastructure daily, the Russian oil industry “could be on its knees by the end of the year.”
As the diplomatic push continues in New York, the violence on the ground is a stark reminder of the stakes.
Zelensky over the weekend wrote on social media that a recent Russian missile strike with cluster munitions on an apartment building in Dnipro was not a “military necessity” but a “deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians.”
“It is vital that this week strengthen the world’s resolve for robust action,” Zelensky emphasized. “For without strength, peace will not prevail.”
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