Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked US President Donald Trump to press China’s leader to use Beijing’s influence over Moscow in a diplomatic effort to get Russia to end its four-and-a-half-year-long invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky told reporters he had not yet received feedback from the White House about Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping but expected to learn the outcome.
Zelensky, who is keen to muster more international support for Ukraine’s defence, was in the United States this week on a trip coinciding with the UN General Assembly.
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He met Trump on Tuesday.
NATO countries have called China a “decisive enabler” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Zelensky shared more details of his US trip in voice messages to a group of journalists.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a press conference after the “Support Ukraine” summit, marking the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2025. (Gleb Garanich/Pool Photo via AP) Credit: Gleb Garanich/AP
Washington was pushing for a three-way meeting involving delegations from the US, Ukraine and Russia, with officials holding technical talks in that format without the countries’ leaders, Zelensky said.
Ukraine is waiting for the US to propose a date for those meetings, he said, adding that American officials suggested the United Arab Emirates as the location for these talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Putin and Trump during their call earlier in September discussed holding such a meeting soon.
“As of now, I can’t give you any specifics,” Peskov said.
Representatives from the three countries held three rounds of trilateral negotiations early in 2026, twice in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and once in Geneva, but the talks achieved no significant breakthroughs.
Zelensky met US senators and congressmen during his US trip and said he thanked them for their bipartisan support in passing a powerful sanctions bill aimed at Moscow in August.
Trump signed the bill into law last week but has not enacted the measures yet.
President Donald Trump arrives with China’s President Xi Jinping and first lady Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan during a State Dinner for China’s President Xi Jinping in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Credit: Alex Brandon/AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Sanctions were key in forcing Putin to the negotiating table, Zelensky said, adding that he hoped Trump would implement the measures.
“The sanctions are indeed strong … all of this is now in the hands of the president of the United States. He can use this tool to pressure the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said Trump confirmed he had made a final decision that Kyiv would get licences to produce Patriot air defence systems.
Ukraine is desperate for more of the American-made air defence systems that are needed to stop Russia’s ballistic missiles, but they have been in short supply since the war in Iran started on February 28.
Trump had said in July that he would allow Ukraine to make its own Patriots but later appeared to be reconsidering the move.
Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine on Thursday night and into Friday killed four people and wounded 11, officials said, while Russian authorities reported one dead and 21 wounded in Ukrainian long-range strikes.
Zelensky said eight Ukrainian regions came under attack.
A lifeless body ofa man lies on a street in front of an office building damaged in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Credit: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka
Russia kept up its relentless round-the-clock attacks on the Ukrainian capital, where a 14-year-old boy was killed and at least seven residents were injured, according to officials.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces hit a missile engine depot near Kyiv, among other targets.
Ukraine hit two refineries as part of its sustained campaign to damage Russia’s economy, Zelensky said.
Unconfirmed Russian media reports said Ukrainian drones also struck a Russian military electronics plant and a synthetic rubber producer.
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