Zelensky and Trump agree to New York meeting following bilateral phone call

Bilateral call and planned New York meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone conversation with Donald Trump on Sunday, 20 September 2026, with both leaders agreeing to hold an in-person meeting in New York. Zelensky published an announcement regarding the exchange on social media platform X, describing the dialogue as an important discussion that addressed a wide range of operational and diplomatic topics. The planned bilateral meeting will take place in New York, where world leaders are convening for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Although Ukrainian officials did not release a specific date for the encounter, Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver a formal speech before the assembly on Tuesday morning. Zelensky indicated that the upcoming discussions take place during a favorable diplomatic window and could substantially alter the trajectory of peace efforts.

I just spoke with President Donald J. Trump. We agreed to meet in New York, and this meeting could change many things. There is diplomatic momentum.

Mediation missions by Kushner and Witkoff

The telephone dialogue followed recent field diplomacy carried out by Donald Trump's emissaries in the region. Two weeks prior to Sunday's call, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff traveled to Kyiv for the first time to explore frameworks for reviving American mediation between Ukraine and Russia. That visit to the Ukrainian capital followed earlier consultative meetings that Kushner and Witkoff conducted in Moscow. During the telephone call, Zelensky formally thanked Trump for dispatching the delegation, noting that both envoys examined essential operational details in depth and witnessed the wartime conditions in Ukraine firsthand.

The path of peace is our top priority.

Security priorities and proposed de-escalation measures

Following the Sunday call, Zelensky detailed specific measures submitted by the Ukrainian government to address fundamental security concerns and pursue de-escalation. The Ukrainian proposals focus on resolving structural vulnerabilities across three key sectors: energy security, food security, and the preservation of human life. Ukrainian officials maintained that securing critical domestic power infrastructure and safeguarding international agricultural trade routes represent necessary foundations for any broader de-escalation agreement.

Intensified drone strikes and diplomatic record

The diplomatic exchanges take place during an intensification of aerial strikes directed at the Ukrainian capital. Over recent weeks, the Russian military began deploying massive swarms of jet-powered drones against targets in Kyiv. These jet-propelled unmanned aerial vehicles operate at higher velocities, creating greater interception difficulties for Ukrainian air defense networks compared to the earlier propeller-driven models deployed by Moscow. The scheduled talks in New York also follow multiple prior rounds of tripartite negotiations that concluded without achieving concrete progress toward halting the conflict, which remains the deadliest in Europe since the Second World War.