Trump Unlikely to Meet Ukraine’s Zelenskiy, Sources Indicate – Reuters

By Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump will not be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the latter’s visit to the United States, despite previous indications that such a meeting was likely, according to three sources familiar with Trump’s schedule.

At a campaign event in New York last week, Trump stated he would "probably" engage in discussions with Zelenskiy while the Ukrainian leader attended the 79th United Nations General Assembly. Before his trip, Zelenskiy expressed intention to share his "victory plan" to bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with Trump, as well as with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

However, the sources noted that while Trump’s plans can change, the likelihood of a meeting at this stage appears very low. It remains unclear if the two leaders ever formally arranged a meeting date, but the possibility diminished significantly after Zelenskiy visited a munitions factory in Pennsylvania, accompanied by the state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro.

This visit reportedly frustrated the Trump campaign, which viewed it as a political move. Shapiro is a close associate of Harris, and Pennsylvania is recognized as a highly competitive political battleground.

Following this, Mike Johnson, the leading Republican in the House, wrote to Zelenskiy requesting the dismissal of Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. for facilitating the trip. Pennsylvania has a large population of voters with Eastern European roots, including many Ukrainian-Americans, making them a key demographic for both parties leading up to the November 5 election.

Even before Zelenskiy’s visit to Pennsylvania, some of Trump’s allies had been advising him to refrain from meetings with foreign leaders in these critical final weeks of campaigning, focusing instead on rallying support domestically.

Neither the Trump campaign nor the Ukrainian embassy in Washington had commented on the matter. Trump has consistently labeled U.S. assistance to Ukraine as a misuse of funds and has not clarified his stance on Ukraine’s potential victory in the conflict. The last time Trump and Zelenskiy interacted in person was during Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2021, although they did have a phone conversation in July.

Zelenskiy has suggested in the past that Trump’s perspective on Ukraine may shift if he wins the upcoming election; reports indicate that their July call was positive. However, recent interactions have shown increasing tension between the two figures.

During a campaign event earlier in the week, Trump asserted that Zelenskiy favored a Democratic victory in the upcoming elections, and he also mentioned that the U.S. should "get out" of the war in Ukraine.

In a recent interview, Zelenskiy described Trump’s running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, as "too radical.” This comment arose as Zelenskiy discussed Vance’s proposals for resolving the conflict, which reportedly include allowing Russia to retain occupied territories—a condition that Ukraine finds unacceptable.