Since President Trump’s return to the White House this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has operated under a clear principle: seize every opportunity to engage with the U.S. leader, aiming to solidify American support for Kyiv.
That critical opportunity arises again this Tuesday. Zelensky is slated to meet with Trump during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as confirmed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday.
This one-on-one discussion with Trump holds potentially greater significance for Zelensky than his formal address to the General Assembly itself. After over three years of conflict, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has seen its prominence on the UN agenda wane, with this year’s discussions expected to focus heavily on other global crises like the wars in Gaza and Sudan.
Their previous encounter at the White House last month yielded a notable victory for Zelensky. He successfully secured a U.S. commitment to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine, envisioned as a cornerstone of any future peace agreement designed to prevent further Russian aggression.
However, the precise contours of America’s involvement in these guarantees remain undefined, even as Ukraine and its European partners diligently craft the detailed framework.
While Trump has vaguely suggested U.S. air support for European forces in Ukraine as part of a postwar settlement, he has offered no concrete details. This lack of clear specifics, according to analysts, has hindered Kyiv and its European allies from publicly unveiling the guarantees or progressing towards the next phase of peace negotiations with Russia.
“These critical matters will be central to our bilateral meeting in New York,” Zelensky stated to reporters on Friday. “My aim is to understand how closely these security guarantees align with Ukraine’s essential requirements.”
Despite Zelensky’s persistent efforts to sway Trump, the American president has shown minimal inclination to intensify pressure on Russia. He has consistently delayed or outright missed deadlines for implementing new economic sanctions against Moscow. Indeed, none of the punitive measures Trump had publicly anticipated after his Anchorage summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin have come to fruition.
This meeting between Zelensky and Trump is set to occur just one day after a contentious UN Security Council session. During that session, several NATO nations vehemently accused Russia of infringing on their airspace and issued stern warnings against any future provocations.
Both Britain and Poland declared their readiness to confront any subsequent Russian breaches of NATO airspace. This strong stance follows the alliance’s recent action of shooting down Russian drones over Poland less than two weeks prior. Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, issued a stark warning: “If another missile or aircraft enters our space without permission, deliberately or by mistake, and gets shot down and the wreckage falls on NATO territory, please don’t come here to whine about it.”
In response, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, retorted by accusing Europe of “spreading blatant lies.”
During a Tuesday news conference in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte refrained from directly addressing Sikorski’s specific comments. He emphasized that when confronted with an airspace violation by a member state, the alliance carefully considers the intruder’s intent and potential risks to civilians or infrastructure before determining an appropriate response.
“Our reaction will always be characterized by calm determination,” Rutte affirmed. His remarks followed a session of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s primary decision-making body, which convened to discuss the recent intrusion of Russian fighter jets into Estonian territory last week.
Estonia initiated Monday’s UN Security Council meeting after Russian jets were detected within its airspace on Friday. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, has denied any such incursion.
This incident followed closely on the heels of another, days prior, when a Russian drone penetrated the airspace of Romania, also a NATO member.
Beyond the high-level political talks, Zelensky also announced a meeting between the American and Ukrainian first ladies to address the pressing issue of Ukrainian children forcibly taken by Russia. This follows a personal letter last month from Melania Trump to President Putin, appealing for the welfare of these children.
Olena Zelenska, President Zelensky’s wife, who has been a vocal international advocate for the children’s return, subsequently sent a letter to Ms. Trump. Zelensky confirmed that a summit dedicated to the repatriation of kidnapped children would be convened during this week’s UN gatherings.
A significant portion of Zelensky’s schedule in New York is also expected to focus on securing vital additional funding for weapon procurement and domestic production.
With the United States ceasing direct weapon donations under Trump’s administration, the Ukrainian government finds itself scrambling to secure alternative funding. Their urgent aim is to bolster domestic production and acquire crucial military equipment, targeting an ambitious goal of $1 billion per month to purchase heavy weaponry from the United States.
(Reporting for this article included contributions from Michael Schwirtz in London.)