Zelensky Meets Trump in New York, Drone Deal Ready

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in New York on September 21, where today, September 22, he is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. The talks are taking place thousands of kilometers from Belgrade, but their outcome touches Serbia directly: Trump has previously linked Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries to a sharp rise in global diesel prices, the same prices that decide what drivers pay at the pump back home.

Zelensky traveled to New York with his wife, Olena Zelenska, and a diplomatic team to take part in the General Assembly session. By his own count, the visit includes around 20 meetings with officials, senators and members of the House of Representatives, heads of international organizations, American companies and research centers. The meeting with Trump is set for Tuesday, a Ukrainian official confirmed to the Kyiv Independent, after the two presidents agreed on it in a phone call on September 20.

“We agreed on a meeting in New York, and that meeting could change a great deal,” Zelensky wrote on X ahead of the trip.

What Is Being Signed in New York

A new drone agreement, the so-called Drone Deal, is also set to be signed, though Zelensky did not say which countries would be party to it. After landing in New York, he said:

“A new drone deal has also been prepared for signing. Of course, Ukraine’s first priority is to bring peace closer and protect the lives of our people.”

The Ukrainian president also said he would discuss with Trump a possible mutual pause in strikes on energy infrastructure and targets on the Black Sea. “There are concrete security proposals and de-escalation measures that could bring the end of the war closer,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine’s energy sector, critical infrastructure and food exports must stop being targeted by Russia, which, he noted, would have to be matched by a corresponding reduction in strikes from the Ukrainian side.

Macron and von der Leyen on the Sidelines of the Assembly

Before meeting the US president, Zelensky also met on September 22 with French President Emmanuel Macron. They discussed additional SAMP/T air defense systems, which Ukraine would finance using funds from a European Union loan. A meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also expected, while Ukraine plans to host a summit of the so-called Crimea Platform in New York, where, according to announcements from Kyiv, a broad, high-level turnout of countries is expected.

Zelensky said strengthening Ukraine’s air defense would be one of the priorities of the talks in New York. “One of the key tasks will be strengthening Ukraine’s air defense and securing sufficient funding,” he said.

Context, From Kushner and Witkoff to Losses at the Front

The visit comes a week after Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visited Ukraine for peace talks that had been stalled for months over Russian territorial demands and Washington’s focus on the war with Iran. Srpske Novine previously reported on Trump signing sanctions against Russia, which gave the US president the authority to impose additional tariffs on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. At the same time, the US State Department approved a possible sale of air defense systems to Ukraine worth 2.7 billion dollars.

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Russia has lost 1,519,650 soldiers since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, including 1,230 in the last day alone. Zelensky has warned before that the active phase of the war could continue through the winter, when Moscow is expected to launch a new wave of attacks on Ukrainian cities and the power grid. Kyiv is therefore seeking additional US Patriot interceptors and is in talks with Washington about a license to produce them in Ukraine.

Whether the talks with Trump bring a concrete step toward ending attacks on energy infrastructure, or whether they stay at the level of announcements like the two presidents’ previous meetings, should become clearer in the days after the General Assembly session.