Trump and Zelensky Clash Over Oil Refinery Strikes at UN Meeting

The Trump-Zelensky meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York failed to resolve the key dispute between Kyiv and Washington over Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries, with Trump seeking a halt while Ukraine refuses unilateral restrictions. Zelensky emphasized after the talks that Trump did not demand a unilateral cessation of strikes, but the issue was a central topic. Ukraine proposes a mutual agreement: Russia stops hitting Ukrainian energy, critical infrastructure, and food facilities, and Ukraine reciprocates. US officials subsequently met with Ukrainian, British, French, and German representatives to discuss a potential moratorium on strikes against energy and grain infrastructure. Trump links Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries to US diesel prices ahead of congressional elections, while Zelensky seeks additional Patriot systems and addressed Starlink usage. Trump mentioned possible sanctions against buyers of Russian oil and called on Moscow to end the war. Ukrainian diplomat Roman Bezsmertnyi suggested the CIA director meeting was to prevent a breakdown in presidential relations, and doubted a Trump-Putin meeting would occur.