Trump Announces Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday Amid Rising Tensions

Former US President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, announced that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, September 27.

During a press conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Trump stated, “President Zelensky has asked to meet with me, and I will be meeting with him tomorrow morning at around 9:45 in Trump Tower.”

However, Zelensky has not yet confirmed the meeting, and sources close to Trump’s campaign indicated that the Ukrainian president had no plans to meet Trump during his visit to the US. Zelensky is in the country for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Following reports that Zelensky’s team preferred not to meet Trump, the former president shared a letter from Zelensky requesting a favorable time to meet in New York.

Last week, Trump mentioned at a campaign stop in New York that he would “probably” speak with Zelensky during his visit.

He has criticized the U.S.’s response to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

During his press conference on Thursday, Trump reiterated his claim that if he were president, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine.

While he believes the war should end, he refrained from stating whether a Ukrainian victory aligns with U.S. interests during the presidential debate in Philadelphia earlier this month.

“I think it’s in the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done, negotiate a deal because we have to stop human lives from being destroyed,” he said.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, have been steadfast allies of Zelensky since the onset of the war, providing tens of billions in military aid to Ukraine and pledging to support him if Harris wins the election.

Harris met with Zelensky at the White House on Thursday, where she stated her commitment to “ensure Ukraine prevails in this war.”

On the same day, Zelensky posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he shared his “victory plan” with Harris and Biden, whom he also met. This “victory plan” is designed to strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield to facilitate a future peace settlement with Russia.