Trump says Ukraine peace deal could come faster than people think as Zelenskyy takes UN stage

BS BULLETIN:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the U.N. Wednesday after meeting President Trump in New York.
Trump says the U.S. is working closely with both Russia and Ukraine and believes an agreement could happen “more quickly than people understand.”
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is prepared for a mutual ceasefire on attacks against energy infrastructure, but only if Russia stops striking Ukraine’s energy system.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to the United Nations podium Wednesday with President Donald Trump sounding increasingly confident that an end to the Russia-Ukraine war may finally be within reach.

The two leaders met Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where the war and possible steps toward negotiations dominated their discussion.

“We’re working very closely with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, and we will get that one done,” Trump said, predicting an agreement could happen “more quickly than people understand.”

Zelenskyy offered a somewhat more cautious assessment after the meeting, but confirmed that the two sides discussed specific steps that could lower the temperature.

“Both the U.S. and Ukraine want to see this senseless Russian war ended before winter,” Zelenskyy said. “We discussed potential de-escalatory steps that can open up the way to diplomacy.”

One of those steps is particularly significant.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to agree to a bilateral “energy ceasefire” under which Kyiv would stop attacking Russian refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow stops attacking Ukraine’s electricity, heating and water infrastructure.

“We are ready for energy ceasefire,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

That proposal follows directly on a story The Daily BS reported Tuesday, as Trump has been pushing both countries toward an agreement to stop hammering each other’s energy infrastructure.

Ukraine has good reason to be reluctant to surrender that weapon without something concrete in return.

Its long-range strikes have inflicted significant damage on Russia’s refining industry, giving Kyiv leverage at the negotiating table even as Russian attacks continue pounding Ukrainian infrastructure.

Zelenskyy also said he remains prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in a trilateral meeting with Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump used his own U.N. address Tuesday to again demand an end to the bloodshed.

“We continue to seek an end to the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump told the General Assembly. “It’s time to stop the killing.”

Trump also pointed to new tariff authority granted by Congress and warned that he would use it if necessary as part of the pressure campaign to bring the war to an end.

There are still major obstacles.

Russia has not publicly committed to the broader ceasefire terms Ukraine wants, and Zelenskyy warned Tuesday that Moscow may be preparing another major attack. Kyiv is simultaneously seeking additional air-defense support, including Patriot interceptors, in case diplomacy goes nowhere.

But after more than four years of war, Zelenskyy’s Wednesday U.N. address comes with something that has often been in short supply during the conflict: An actual negotiating track — and a president in Washington publicly saying he thinks the finish line may be closer than it appears.

MY QUICK TAKE

This is where Trump’s deal-making reputation gets its biggest test.

Stopping attacks on energy infrastructure sounds narrow until you realize it’s one of the few things both Russia and Ukraine badly want the other side to stop doing.

That doesn’t make it peace. But after four-and-a-half years of killing, getting both sides to stop blowing up one category of targets would at least be movement in a direction other than the morgue.