US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, discussed developments in the war in Ukraine in New York, as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for the continuation of sanctions imposed on Russia. The exchange of attacks continued, while warnings emerged about the humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
Macron seeks defensive support for Kyiv
Speaking after his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Macron said the talks had been positive and constructive and covered the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. He added that the meeting addressed several issues, including the situation in the Red Sea and its significance for global prices, as well as lengthy discussions on Ukraine and Russia.
The French president said he had urged his US counterpart to provide Kyiv with air-defence systems, considering their provision to be “a defensive measure”. He said Trump had been very open to discussion and that they had been able to examine the details of both conflicts, given their clear importance to global peace and security.
EU stands by Russia sanctions
Before the meeting began, a French official said Macron intended to speak to Trump “frankly” in an attempt to “guide him towards the right decisions”, particularly regarding Ukraine. In parallel, Kallas on Monday urged EU member states to maintain their sanctions policy towards Russia, as discussions continued over the possibility of lifting restrictions on two Russian businessmen.
Speaking at a press conference in New York after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, she said sanctions remained “at the heart” of European policy aimed at pressuring Moscow to end the war and depriving it of sources of funding. Kallas added that European officials were working to complete talks on extending the sanctions so that the decision could be approved as soon as possible.
She stressed the need to keep them in place for longer, affirming that the EU’s position had not changed and that work was continuing to prepare a new package of sanctions. Talks are continuing as some member states call for sanctions to be lifted on specific names included on the European blacklist.
The EU failed on Monday to approve a settlement allowing sanctions to be lifted on Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. Negotiations are to resume in Brussels as part of efforts to extend restrictions imposed on around 3,000 people and entities because of the war in Ukraine.
Sanctions extension stalls as Oleshky crisis deepens
On the humanitarian front, the Kremlin said on Monday that the city of Oleshky, located in the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region, was facing serious problems with food and medicine supplies, adding that the Russian army was working to resolve them. In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said a delegation from his country intended to raise the issue of Oleshky before the United Nations General Assembly. He said 6,000 residents of the city, including 200 children, were “dying of hunger and cold”.
On the ground, Russian and Ukrainian attacks continued amid diplomatic efforts led by the United States and Turkey to end the war. Moscow warned that it would intensify its strikes on Kyiv, while Ukraine said it had carried out attacks targeting oil and industrial facilities inside Russian territory.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday that its forces had used drones to target logistics centres, warehouses and ports in Ukraine, as well as vessels it said were being used to meet the needs of the Ukrainian army. In a statement, the ministry added that various targets in the Kyiv and Odesa regions had come under attack during the night.
In Russia, three industry sources said the main Moscow refinery, owned by Gazprom Neft, had halted crude oil processing after fires broke out in primary distillation units. The sources attributed the fires to a Ukrainian drone attack that took place on 20 September.
The developments came despite pressure from the Trump administration to stop attacks on energy facilities. Axios reported that the US president had repeatedly asked his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, telling him that the attacks were contributing to a rise in global diesel prices.
