Ukraine targets Russia with more than 1,000 drones ahead of New York talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump and that the two leaders agreed to meet in New York this week as Trump seeks a deal ending Ukraine’s war with Russia. The encounter would likely happen Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, which both presidents are scheduled to attend.

In a Facebook post, Zelensky described the call as “an important conversation” in which “we managed to discuss a lot.” He wrote that “we agreed on a meeting in New York, and this meeting could change a lot.”

The planned sit-down follows shuttle diplomacy earlier this month by Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with Zelensky as part of a renewed peace push. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking Sept. 9, characterized those meetings as substantive.

“In my opinion, these were meaningful negotiations,” Rubio said. “I don’t want to judge them as good or bad, productive or unproductive, but just to note that they were meaningful. New ideas were discussed.”

The diplomatic activity has unfolded alongside intensified combat. Over the weekend, Ukraine targeted Russia with more than 1,000 drones and a newly developed ballistic missile, while Ukrainian officials said seven people died in Russian attacks in the Kyiv and Sumy regions.

Zelensky framed the envoy-led diplomacy as evidence of “diplomatic momentum” and thanked Kushner and Witkoff for their visit to Kyiv. “We thoroughly discussed the key details, and the guys saw the situation in Ukraine,” he wrote. “A peaceful track is our number one priority.”

The Ukrainian leader said discussions with Trump covered “de-escalation steps and fundamental security issues,” as well as “food security, and protecting human life.” He added that Ukraine is “working together with the American team and are ready to take really serious steps” and thanked Trump for signing a new Russian sanctions bill.

“We all agree: peace must be,” Zelensky wrote.