Zelenskyy proposes energy truce with Russia in meeting with Trump at UN

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday and proposed a limited truce under which both Russia and Ukraine would stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure. Trump struck an optimistic tone following the meeting, saying 'we're going to make a deal,' though he did not specify concrete terms or a timeline for such an agreement.

The proposal comes at a moment when both Russia and Ukraine have intensified strikes on each other's energy facilities. Ukraine says it has developed and deployed thousands of long-range drones in recent months to strike Russian warehouses, port infrastructure and oil refineries. Russia, for its part, has continued attacks on Ukraine's power and heating infrastructure, a pattern that could have severe consequences for Ukrainian civilians as winter approaches.

Just hours after the Zelenskyy-Trump meeting, Russia carried out fresh drone strikes on Kyiv. Various reports cite between two and six people killed and more than 20 wounded in daylight attacks on the Ukrainian capital. These strikes took place only hours before Zelenskyy was scheduled to address the UN General Assembly, and were widely seen as a sign that an agreement on an energy truce was not imminent.

In his address to the General Assembly, Zelenskyy went further than earlier diplomatic signals suggested. He warned Moscow of a 'painful winter' should truce talks over energy attacks collapse, saying Ukraine would strike back at Russian energy facilities in that event. He also described Russian President Vladimir Putin as the 'patient zero' of the war, asserting personal responsibility for its continuation. According to Zelenskyy, Putin pays with 248 lives for every kilometer of Ukrainian territory seized.

Zelenskyy also used his speech to highlight the international dimensions of the war. He accused Russia of recruiting fighters from 47 different countries, including nationals from North Korea, Ghana and India. Military cooperation between Russia and North Korea drew particular attention: Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine had recently transferred two North Korean prisoners of war, captured in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025, to South Korea. One of the soldiers reportedly attempted to take his own life upon capture, which Zelenskyy cited as evidence of how people are raised in North Korea.

Alongside the energy truce discussions, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was also ready for a ceasefire in the Black Sea and was now waiting for a response from Moscow. The United States officially stated that it wants both Russia and Ukraine to end strikes on energy sites — a position that preceded Trump's remarks suggesting the two sides had already agreed not to target each other's energy infrastructure, though it remained unclear how firm that understanding actually was.

As a possible next step in efforts to end a war that has now lasted more than four and a half years, Zelenskyy floated the G20 summit in December as a potential venue for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia. So far, no official Russian response to the energy truce proposal has been reported. The simultaneous mix of diplomatic overtures and continued attacks underscores that the outcome of this initiative remains uncertain, and will likely depend on whether both warring parties are genuinely prepared to de-escalate before winter fully sets in.