Trump, Zelenskyy to Discuss Ceasefire of Energy Infrastructure Attacks, Rubio Says

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will discuss a ceasefire in energy infrastructure attacks in Ukraine and Russia when the pair meet in New York City on Sept. 22, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Rubio said the administration viewed the move as a “great idea” in an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday morning, just hours ahead of the two leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in the city.

Asked about a freeze on striking energy infrastructure, Rubio said his view would be a “ceasefire in which Ukraine’s infrastructure is not being targeted,” and “Russian energy supplies are not being targeted as well.”

The secretary described such an arrangement as an “ideal outcome” that the Trump administration supports and would try to achieve; however, he also said, “it takes two sides to agree to that, and so that’s been the challenge.”

He also raised concerns about U.S.-linked ships and American oil supplies, which he said have been targeted by Ukraine but “probably not deliberately,” calling that situation “something that needs to be addressed.”

Rubio said that the majority of recent rises in oil prices Americans have seen over recent weeks could be attributed to the war between Russia and Ukraine, with the Yemen-based Houthis’ actions in the Red Sea also being a contributing factor.

Such a halt was posited by Trump earlier this month.

The president said on Sept. 14 in a Truth Social post that both Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.

“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do likewise! The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” he wrote.

Both Moscow and Kyiv later said publicly that they supported the idea; however, strikes by both nations on each other’s energy infrastructure, including Russian oil and gas refineries and Ukrainian gas stations, have continued apace.

Trump–Zelenskyy Meeting

The meeting of the two presidents was announced by Zelenskyy on Sunday in an X post, with the Ukrainian leader suggesting the tete-a-tete “could change a lot.”

“There is diplomatic momentum,” Zelenskyy said, adding that there “are ideas for de-escalation steps and for addressing fundamental security issues— energy security, food security, and the protection of human life.”

He said Ukraine is “ready to take really serious steps” toward achieving peace.

Trump and Zelenskyy last met face to face at the White House in July, when the Ukrainian leader visited Washington to attend a memorial for Lindsey Graham, the recently deceased Republican senator from South Carolina, who had been a longtime supporter of Ukraine.