Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US President Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday and said he trusted the White House could help bring an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, even as attacks by both sides continued to escalate.
Speaking briefly before their closed-door meeting, Zelenskyy said, “I hope that we will end this war, and President Trump will help us help us end this war.” Trump said he believed progress was possible, adding, “I think we’re going to make a deal” to stop the fighting.
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The meeting came after Russian missiles and drones struck at least four Ukrainian regions overnight, with officials saying five people were killed. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces had damaged two more Russian oil refineries in fresh long-range strikes, as aerial attacks continued despite little change on the front lines.
Trump has previously asked Zelenskyy to stop striking Russian oil refineries and other fuel infrastructure, saying the attacks were adding to global shortages and pushing up prices. The supply crunch has also been worsened by reduced oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the Iran war. Asked about the Ukrainian strikes, Trump said they were “a serious hit on the Russians, but also a serious hit on the price of diesel”, which had “gone up quite a bit”. He said he and Zelenskyy would discuss the issue further in private.
Trump, who during his 2024 re-election campaign had said he could quickly broker an end to the war, said on Tuesday, “We talked about it a lot, including with President Putin,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “And I think something’s going to happen.” Putin is not due to attend this year’s UN General Assembly. Asked whether Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin could meet during the G20 gathering in Florida in December, Trump did not give a clear answer.
Later, in separate remarks to reporters, Zelenskyy said he was ready to sit down with both Trump and Putin, but suggested the Russian leader might resist because he was not ready to end the war. Zelenskyy also said Ukraine was still seeking more Patriot air defence systems from the US, but had not received a clear commitment. “They are positive to help us, but I didn’t get the very concrete answer,” he said. Defence experts say the US is facing a global shortage of Patriot interceptors after many were used against Iranian attacks on US and allied bases in the Middle East.
Asked about the risk of wider offensive action by Moscow against countries bordering Russia or Belarus, Zelenskyy said neighbouring states should “respond – always respond” to protect themselves. “If you don’t respond,” he said, “Russians, they will go further.” Kyiv began targeting Russian refineries after repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid. Zelenskyy has said such strikes could stop if Russia ended its attacks on energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy is also seeking support to keep Ukrainian grain and other farm exports moving through the Black Sea, after Russian attacks on cargo vessels disrupted shipments, hit Ukraine’s economy and threatened global supplies. Russia and Ukraine have in recent years accounted for about 30 per cent of global wheat exports and 12 per cent of corn exports, much of it shipped through the Black Sea. But Thomas de Waal of Carnegie Europe said in a report on Tuesday that attacks last month had cut both countries’ agricultural exports by two-thirds. “The lack of that grain in world markets puts several African countries at risk of famine, while world cereal prices, already pushed up by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, could rise even higher,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France would provide Ukraine with additional radar systems to help protect its power grid. In a social media post, Macron said he had also discussed with Trump a possible truce between Moscow and Kyiv to stop strikes on energy infrastructure, as well as a “moratorium” on attacks in the Black Sea. Earlier in New York, Zelenskyy met US senators and thanked them for what he called strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and for backing a tougher sanctions bill against Russia that Trump signed into law. He said peace and security would be closer once the law was fully implemented, and added on social media that he had briefed senators on de-escalation proposals he was discussing privately with Trump.
On the ground, the war continued to cause damage and casualties. In Kyiv, 36-year-old Iryna Panina said she woke at around 2 am as a jet-powered Russian drone approached her home. The blast shattered a window and left her flat covered in debris. Panina said she had lost faith in international efforts to bring peace. “As an ordinary person just trying to live and survive each day, I find it hard to believe they fully understand what’s actually happening, how hard it is, and how much ordinary people are suffering,” she told The Associated Press.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian special forces struck the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, southeast of Moscow, and another refinery in Bashkortostan in overnight attacks. Samara regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said one person was killed and four others were injured, adding that “the enemy targeted industrial facilities”, though he did not say which ones. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 297 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions and the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula overnight.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia’s overnight assault included anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and more than 200 drones. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said four people were killed in the central city of Dnipro, while police said a woman was killed by a drone in the northern Sumy region. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had struck metallurgical and chemical industries, the fuel and energy sector, the military-industrial complex and port infrastructure in four regions of Ukraine.
The war has had global consequences, with Western officials saying more than 500,000 Russian troops have been killed, and Western analysts estimating that Ukraine has suffered more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump reflected both the search for a political way forward and the reality that the war, attacks on energy targets and pressure on global grain and fuel supplies are continuing.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
