Zelensky Meets Trump in New York as Russia Launches Massive Strikes

Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in New York with first lady Olena Zelenska for the UN General Assembly and is set to meet Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon. The leaders will discuss a limited truce to protect heating and power infrastructure ahead of winter, following a Sunday phone call.

Emmanuel Macron met Zelensky on Monday and stressed the urgent need to stop strikes on energy facilities, warning millions of Ukrainian families could lose critical heating and electricity. Trump warned Russia had "unfortunately lost control" of its oil industry and urged Ukraine to halt long-range strikes on refineries.

“Russia had "unfortunately lost control" of its oil industry”

A senior White House official said Trump worries Ukrainian attacks are worsening a global diesel shortage and driving up prices. The Russian defence ministry said its forces carried out a massive strike on Ukrainian industrial, military, fuel, energy, and port facilities, while air defences intercepted 297 drones over Russian regions overnight.

Ukrainian drones hit civilian targets in Russia's Samara region, which hosts critically important oil refineries, according to the local governor. Dozens of drones were reportedly downed by air defences. Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas said Russia's legislative elections, where Putin's party won at least 355 of 450 seats, represented only a "veneer of democracy".

Russian strikes killed two people and wounded three, including a child, in the Sumy region, while a 45-year-old woman was killed and a 13-year-old boy seriously wounded in Kharkiv region. France supports lifting sanctions on oligarch Alisher Usmanov to secure the release of French nationals detained in Baku, irritating Brussels.