Zelensky urges Trump to impose immediate sanctions on Russian missile production

Sanctions appeal in Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded on Friday, 11 September 2026, that US President Donald Trump immediately levy severe sanctions on Russia to curtail Moscow's missile and weapons production. Speaking at the Yalta European Strategy forum held in Kyiv, Zelensky pressed the American administration to adopt direct presidential decisions without administrative delays. He argued that measures targeting the manufacturing of ballistic missiles and associated armaments cannot wait as long-range bombardment escalates across Ukraine. Zelensky insisted that decisive action depends on personal determinations made by Trump, pointing out that bureaucratic hesitation allows Russian defense factories to continue manufacturing munitions.

“Sanctions need to be imposed now. These sanctions must be severe. (...) Sometimes I do not understand why decisions cannot be made quickly.”

Industrial damage and energy infrastructure threats

The appeal at the forum followed renewed Russian aerial attacks, including an early-morning drone strike on a petrol station in Kyiv that killed two people and hospitalised four others, according to the city mayor. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have expanded long-range strikes against industrial facilities, refineries, warehouses, and port installations across recent months. Russian strikes have dealt severe blows to Ukrainian metallurgical companies, while missile and drone attacks on cargo vessels in the Black Sea have paralyzed a large portion of Ukrainian agricultural exports. Ukraine continues to face a shortage of air defense systems needed to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, leaving strategic infrastructure vulnerable. With winter approaching, officials fear a repeat of the extensive damage inflicted on the national energy grid during the winter of 2025. In response, Zelensky proposed a mutual moratorium on energy attacks, warning that Ukrainian forces would retaliate directly if Russia strikes electrical installations.

“Russia knows that if they strike... they will receive the same in return.”

US diplomatic outreach and upcoming New York meeting

The push for immediate economic pressure comes as international efforts to broker an end to the four-and-a-half-year conflict remain deadlocked since the beginning of the year. During a state visit to Canada on Thursday, 10 September, Zelensky announced that he plans to meet Trump in New York in late September to discuss peace initiatives and military aid. That planned meeting follows recent diplomatic missions to Moscow and Kyiv by American envoys seeking to restart stalled negotiations. On Wednesday, 9 September, Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for the Republican National Convention in Dallas that he had held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a framework for ending the war.

“He wants to make a deal, and if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to make a deal, that would be very good.”

Stalled talks and terms of compromise

Discussions regarding a potential settlement involve multiple intermediaries from the Trump administration. US envoy Steve Witkoff stated that both Moscow and Kyiv must accept mutual compromises to establish an exit from the fighting. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, stated that the US president is determined to halt the conflict and end the bloodshed affecting families on both sides. However, following meetings with American envoys in Kyiv, Zelensky indicated that the war is likely to extend through the upcoming winter as front-line strikes continue and diplomatic terms remain unresolved.