Zelensky: ready for a mutual ceasefire with Russia over energy. Has asked the US for Patriot missiles and technology

Military equipment for the winter, including Patriot missile defence systems and other technologies. This is the package of urgent aid requested by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from US President Donald Trump during a face-to-face meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, given on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly currently taking place in New York, the Ukrainian leader added that he believes the United States will seek to reach an agreement to halt attacks on energy infrastructure. Zelensky stated that he is aware that energy remains a priority for Trump.

“I think he will try to negotiate a ceasefire in the energy sector,” he observed, before noting that he considered it unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin would react without further pressure, such as a tightening of sanctions. The Ukrainian president stated that, with the elections now behind him, the Russian leader feels little pressure to change his strategy, despite limited progress on the battlefield.

Ukraine would, however, be prepared to discuss a ceasefire with Russia regarding attacks on energy infrastructure, Mr Zelensky emphasised following his meeting with the US President in New York, explaining that the issue had been raised during their talks.

“We discussed an energy ceasefire,” Zelensky said at a press conference. The Ukrainian president did not provide any details, but he made it clear that Kyiv is ready to discuss the terms of an agreement with Moscow and that, during the meeting, Trump did not ask him to unilaterally halt attacks on Russian refineries.

Zelensky, who is due to deliver his fourth in-person address to the General Assembly today since the Russian invasion in 2022, has singled out India, Turkey and, above all, China for their support for Moscow in the war.