President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to discuss a proposed ceasefire covering Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure as both sides continue attacks that have damaged power systems, refineries and global fuel supplies.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to make a possible halt in attacks on energy infrastructure a central subject of their meeting Tuesday in New York, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said hours before the meeting that the Trump administration supports a reciprocal arrangement under which Russia would stop attacking Ukrainian energy systems while Ukraine would suspend strikes on Russian oil and fuel infrastructure.
“We think that would be a great idea, an energy infrastructure of cease fire, in which you’re not- Ukraine’s infrastructure is not being targeted. Russian energy supplies are not being targeted as well. It’s an ideal outcome,” Rubio said during a Tuesday morning Fox News interview.
Rubio discussed the proposal during a televised interview, with the full live broadcast also available online.
The secretary cautioned that Washington cannot impose such an arrangement unilaterally.
“It takes two sides to agree to that, and so that’s been the challenge,” Rubio said.
The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy is scheduled on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where both leaders are conducting a series of diplomatic meetings related to the more than four-year-old war.
Zelenskyy confirmed the meeting after a weekend phone call with Trump, saying the discussion could carry significant consequences for efforts to reduce the fighting.
“There is diplomatic momentum,” Zelenskyy said.
He added that “there are ideas for de-escalation steps and for addressing fundamental security issues— energy security, food security, and the protection of human life.”
“We are working together with the American team and are ready to take really serious steps,” Zelenskyy said, according to his office.
The Ukrainian president also briefed a bipartisan group of U.S. senators Tuesday on the de-escalation proposals he planned to discuss with Trump and reiterated Ukraine’s request for additional Patriot air-defense systems and ballistic-missile interceptors before winter.
The proposed energy truce has taken on additional urgency as both Russia and Ukraine continue striking infrastructure central to electricity generation, fuel production and energy exports.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s electrical grid, gas infrastructure and other energy facilities, while Ukraine has intensified long-range drone attacks against Russian oil refineries, storage sites and export infrastructure.
Several Russian refineries have been temporarily knocked offline by recent Ukrainian strikes, contributing to tighter fuel supplies inside Russia and disruptions to diesel markets.
Trump said Sept. 14 that both governments had agreed in principle not to attack one another’s energy facilities.
“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do likewise! The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” Trump wrote.
The announcement did not develop into a durable ceasefire.
Zelenskyy subsequently said Ukraine supported the concept but wanted Washington to establish that Moscow was genuinely prepared to comply before Kyiv committed to a formal arrangement. Reuters reported that no final agreement had been reached at that stage.
Strikes subsequently continued on both sides.
The renewed attacks have raised questions about whether the two governments can establish a verifiable and reciprocal arrangement rather than another informal understanding.
Rubio said Tuesday that Washington’s preferred outcome would protect Ukrainian infrastructure while also halting Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy supplies.
His remarks went beyond concern about Russian and Ukrainian domestic infrastructure.
Rubio also alleged that Ukraine had struck vessels and petroleum interests connected to the United States during its campaign against Russian energy networks.
“The one thing we are concerned about, however, is that over the last few months, on a number of occasions, American-linked ships, American oil supplies have been targeted, probably not deliberately, but targeted nonetheless by Ukraine. And so that’s something that needs to be addressed,” Rubio said.
It was not immediately clear which incidents Rubio was referring to.
ABC News reported that Ukraine has attacked facilities around the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where infrastructure associated with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium handles oil exports. U.S. companies Chevron and ExxonMobil hold significant interests in that pipeline system. Ukraine did not immediately respond to ABC’s request for comment on Rubio’s allegation.
Rubio also linked higher oil prices to disruptions associated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict and attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, presenting an energy ceasefire as potentially beneficial beyond the battlefield.
Global diesel markets have been under pressure from several sources, including damaged Russian refinery capacity as well as disruptions to oil and refining infrastructure associated with the Middle East conflict. Reuters has reported that the combined losses of Russian and Gulf refining capacity have tightened global diesel supplies.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also promoted an energy truce.
Macron said Tuesday that he discussed with Trump the possibility of a moratorium on Russian and Ukrainian attacks against energy infrastructure, alongside additional efforts to protect Ukraine from missile and drone strikes.
The proposal is expected to form part of a broader Trump-Zelenskyy discussion that also includes air defenses, sanctions and possible routes toward wider negotiations with Moscow.
Zelenskyy has said Ukraine remains prepared to pursue substantial de-escalation steps if they are reciprocal and enforceable.
Russia, meanwhile, has continued large-scale aerial attacks against Ukraine even as discussions surrounding an energy ceasefire have proceeded. Reuters reported Tuesday that Kyiv and Moscow had intensified aerial operations despite previous efforts to establish limits on attacks against energy targets.
The meeting also comes days after Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, imposing additional restrictions on Russia’s energy and defense sectors and expanding pressure on countries helping Moscow evade sanctions.
Zelenskyy thanked Trump for signing the measure and told senators Tuesday that stronger sanctions and air defenses could help increase pressure for negotiations.
Trump and Zelenskyy last met face to face July 28 at the White House during Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington for the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a longtime supporter of Ukraine.
Official White House photographs show Trump and Zelenskyy meeting in the Roosevelt Room and Oval Office that day.
During those July talks, the two discussed Patriot missile production and possible efforts to revive negotiations with Russia.
Their New York meeting now places energy infrastructure at the center of the immediate diplomatic agenda.
A successful arrangement would require commitments from both Moscow and Kyiv and some mechanism for determining whether attacks violate the agreement.
For Washington, the objective described by Rubio is narrower than a comprehensive ceasefire but potentially easier to negotiate: stop Russia from striking Ukraine’s power and energy systems while stopping Ukraine from attacking Russian refineries and related energy assets.
Whether that limited proposal can hold remains unresolved.
Trump announced a similar understanding earlier this month, only for strikes against energy facilities to continue.
Tuesday’s meeting gives Trump and Zelenskyy another opportunity to determine whether those competing campaigns can be suspended — potentially creating the first enforceable step toward a broader reduction in hostilities.
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