Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Trump gave no ‘concrete answer’ on key weapon exports

Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has not received a “concrete answer” from the US on whether it will receive more Patriot missile interceptors, which are vital for defending against Russia’s now daily aerial attacks.

The Ukrainian president was speaking to reporters after a much-anticipated meeting with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Asked about whether the US would take steps to ease Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot missiles, he said: “They are positive to help us, but I didn’t get the very concrete answer.”

Zelensky also said he hoped Russia’s war with his country would end “before winter” and that US president Donald Trump would help Kyiv to bring the fighting to an end.

The New York Times reports that Mr Zelensky said during a meeting with Mr Trump at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday: “I hope we will end this war, and president Trump will help us end this war.”

“I think we need to do this as quick as possible - before winter”, he added.

Mr Trump nodded and repeated his words with approval, the NYT added.

Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is preparing another major attack on Ukraine, based on Ukrainian intelligence, and Kyiv is working with allies to strengthen its air defences.

He argued that this makes any discussion about easing sanctions on Russia inappropriate while Ukraine remains under daily missile and drone threats.

“There’s intelligence right now that Russia is preparing a new ​massive attack against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

Reuters reported that Russia has recently changed its tactics, including using jet-powered drones that fly higher and are harder for Ukrainian air defences to intercept.

Zelensky also said Russia is making slow advances in eastern Donetsk, while Ukraine has been striking Russian targets, particularly oil facilities, deep inside Russia.

During meetings in New York, Zelensky discussed ending the war with Trump, including an “energy ceasefire” with Moscow.

The EU is set to remove sanctions imposed on two Russian oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, who were targeted after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

France pushed for Usmanov’s removal, citing “national security” concerns, while Luxembourg backed removing Fridman, who is challenging the freezing of his assets.

Ukraine has condemned the decision as “unacceptable”.

“Moscow is celebrating because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Andriy Sybiha said on X.

Latvia initially opposed the move but agreed to abstain after securing concessions from France, including talks on French nuclear deterrence cooperation and a stronger French military presence in Latvia.

The EU agreed to extend sanctions on about 2,600 other individuals and entities for three years, rather than renewing them every six months.

A senior Nato commander has warned that Vladimir Putin is becoming “increasingly cavalier, dangerous and risk accepting”, as the Ukraine war continues and Russia seeks to weaken Western unity.

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, who serves as Nato’s deputy commander in Europe, said Moscow could try to test Nato through more aggressive actions, including sabotage and espionage.

He warned Nato members to be cautious in their response because, in his assessment, Russia could be trying to provoke the alliance into an “overreaction”.

He said that Nato members needed to be aware of the “febrile environment”.

Ukraine urgently wants the US to provide more Patriot missile interceptors to protect its cities from Russia’s ballistic missile attacks, but Washington has not yet given Kyiv a firm commitment, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

“They are positive to help us, but I didn’t get the very concrete answer,” he said.

The US is itself facing a shortage of Patriot interceptors after using large numbers to defend against Iranian attacks in the Middle East.

As Ukraine’s stocks run low, Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities are becoming more vulnerable to Russia’s attacks.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv is ready for an “energy ceasefire” with Russia, under which both sides would stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.

He raised the proposal with US president Donald Trump at the UN in New York and said he was also willing to meet Vladimir Putin in a trilateral meeting with Trump.

“We are ready for any kind of format of energy ceasefire” if Russia agrees to “not attack our energy system,” Zelensky told reporters.

He said the “American side will find a way … to bring them to any kind of negotiations”.

Trump said he believed the war could end sooner than expected, although there is little indication so far that Putin is ready for a settlement.

Zelensky is also urging India, China and Turkey to stop buying Russian oil, arguing that the revenues help fund Moscow’s war effort.

On Sunday, just as polling closed in Russia’s parliamentary elections, Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone strikes on Moscow since the war broke out over four years ago.

Striking images from the city showed a large refinery in flames and vast plumes of smoke billowing from chimneys. Over 450 drones were shot down in what the region’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin called “the most massive” attack it had seen.

The attacks came shortly after US president Donald Trump had ordered both sides to quit their attacks on energy infrastructure. But both countries have continued to attack each other despite the pleas.

Vladimir Putin is becoming "increasingly cavalier, dangerous and risk accepting," as his war in Ukraine drags on and as he seeks to divide Western allies, NATO's deputy commander in Europe said Tuesday.

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer spoke to The Associated Press at a security conference in Estonia amid warnings from some European leaders that Moscow is planning to test NATO's collective defence pact with bolder attacks that have already included sabotage and espionage.

Stringer warned that NATO members need to be aware of the "febrile environment" and careful in their response because Putin would like to provoke the alliance into an "overreaction."

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said last week that Russia might target NATO nations with deliberate drone or missile strikes while claiming they were accidental. French president Emmanuel Macron agreed and has asked his government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure against potential drone attacks and cyberattacks.

Other European officials say the threat from Russia is serious but have called for calm.

Infrastructure collapse, evacuation orders and the army on the streets to protect food supplies? As ‘The Wargame’ simulates the government’s response after an attack, Chris Stokel-Walker looks at how we’d be alerted to the emergency and how prepared (and safe) the UK are from a cyberstrike: