Zelensky announced the call in his official channel on the social network X. According to him, the two leaders discussed "many topics" and agreed to meet in person in New York. The Ukrainian president described the upcoming meeting as one that "can change a lot."
Zelensky thanked Trump for signing a bill he calls the "Lindsey Graham law" and the "hell sanctions bill." The document gives the US president broad powers to impose and tighten sanctions against Russia's leadership, major business figures, fuel and energy companies, banks and the so-called shadow fleet.
The law also allows tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the largest importers of Russian oil, among them India and China. The US president may choose not to use these powers, and if sanctions are mandated by law, he can announce exceptions.
According to Zelensky, he also thanked Trump for the recent visit to Kyiv by special envoys Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Ukrainian president noted that the envoys "went through the essential details well" and "saw the situation in Ukraine." He called the peace track priority number one.
Zelensky said Kyiv has ideas about steps toward de-escalation and fundamental security issues — energy, food and the protection of people's lives. According to him, the Ukrainian side is working together with the American team and is ready to take "truly serious steps."
No exact date for the meeting was given. Zelensky had previously said he hoped to meet Trump in the twenties of September. The US president will speak in New York at a session of the UN General Assembly on September 22, and a number of bilateral meetings are scheduled for him the same day.
As of publication, Trump had not reported plans to meet Zelensky in New York. Zelensky's meeting with Witkoff and Kushner took place in Kyiv on September 6 — the first visit by Trump's special envoys to Ukraine since the start of his second term. Before that, on September 5, Kushner and Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
Following those talks, Zelensky said in an interview with Axios that the message from the American side amounted to "the Russians being ready for negotiations." The Ukrainian leader views the situation skeptically: according to him, Russia's actions on the battlefield and the recent escalation of attacks do not indicate a readiness for compromise.
Zelensky also told Axios that the weeks before the onset of winter open a window of opportunity for diplomacy. Of Putin, he said that he "needs Trump" and that he "does not want to upset" the American president.