Zelensky to push Trump on security guarantees at UN meeting

2 weeks ago 7

By Olesia Safronova

September 21, 2025 — 12.35pm

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US President Donald Trump next week in a bid to persuade the US administration to join a security guarantees framework supported by Kyiv and its European allies.

His comments came as British fighter jets flew their first NATO air defence sortie over Poland as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission, aimed at strengthening the Western alliance’s defences following a Russian drone incursion earlier this month.

Zelensky said the talks with Trump would be held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in August.

“I would like to receive the signals, how close we are to understanding that the security guarantees from all partners are those that we need,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Friday (Saturday AEST).

Trump is scheduled to address the UN gathering on Tuesday and Zelensky on Wednesday. It’s not clear which day the two leaders would meet.

“We have prepared the basis for security guarantees that Europe is ready to adopt, taking into account that the United States of America will be there,” Zelensky said.

“We have had many discussions, including among the leadership of our armies and general staffs with the Europeans and the Americans.”

A special separate meeting of US and Ukraine’s first ladies was also planned for next week, Zelensky said.

Ukraine’s potential post-war security issues have been widely discussed in recent weeks, both in Washington and across European capitals, with the potential for a ceasefire seemingly at an impasse amid continued Russian bombardment of civilian targets across Ukraine.

The number of Ukrainian civilians killed in Russian attacks in July-August exceeded 500 people, according to the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s office. Regions across the country are under the permanent threat of air attacks, including from Shahed-type drones, ballistic missiles and glide bombs.

Three civilians were killed and dozens injured on Saturday in the latest strikes, with municipal infrastructure hit in the country’s south and centre, Zelensky said on X. Russia launched 40 missiles – cruise and ballistic – and about 580 drones of various types into Ukraine, he said.

Some 26 European countries have expressed willingness to contribute to guarantees, including with troops, while Trump has pledged to provide some form of backstop, potentially including intelligence and air support. The US hasn’t committed to direct steps despite Trump’s expressions of frustration towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US sanctions against Russia would also be discussed at next week’s meeting, according to Zelensky.

“If the war continues and there are no moves toward peace, we expect sanctions – this is the second topic that I will raise at the meeting with President Trump,” Zelensky said.

He emphasised that Ukraine was heading towards another winter of war, and concrete moves by the US, including new sanctions, should be made before the cold season.

He praised Europe for adopting a new sanctions package and strengthening tariff policies against countries that buy energy resources from Russia.

Meanwhile, two Royal Air Force Typhoons took off from a British military base in eastern England on Friday night to patrol Polish skies and deter and defend against aerial threats from Russia, including drones, the government said, adding that they returned safely to the UK early on Saturday morning.

The UK mission over Poland comes amid heightened tensions elsewhere in Europe, with NATO-member Estonia saying on Friday that three Russian military jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes in an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion.

Bloomberg, Reuters

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