Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he asked US President Trump to press China's leader to use Beijing's influence over Moscow in a diplomatic effort to get Russia to end its 4 1/2-year-long invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky told reporters he hasn't yet received feedback from the White House about Trump's talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping but expects to learn the outcome, per the AP. Zelensky, who's keen to muster more international support for Ukraine's defense, was in the US this week on a trip coinciding with the UN General Assembly. He met with Trump on Tuesday.
NATO countries have called China a "decisive enabler" of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion. Zelensky met with US senators and Congress members during his US trip and said he thanked them for their bipartisan support in passing a powerful sanctions bill aimed at Moscow last month. Trump signed the bill into law last week but hasn't enacted the measures yet. Sanctions are key in forcing Putin to the negotiating table, Zelensky said, adding that he hoped Trump would implement the measures. "The sanctions are indeed strong ... all of this is now in the hands of the president of the United States. He can use this tool to pressure the Russian Federation," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader also said Trump confirmed he'd made a final decision that Kyiv would get licenses to produce Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine is desperate for more of the American-made systems that are needed to stop Russia's ballistic missiles, but they've been in short supply since the war in Iran started on Feb. 28. Trump had said in July that he'd allow Ukraine to make its own Patriots but later appeared to be reconsidering the move. Zelensky said he also spoke in the US with the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission about plugging Ukraine's budget deficit as its finances are strained by wartime expenses and drops in production. Russia's economy is also hurting.
The EU will extend its financial aid for Ukraine, and the IMF will continue its financial support programs, he said. Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine into Friday killed five people and wounded 11, officials said, while Russian authorities reported one dead and 21 hurt in Ukrainian long-range strikes. Zelensky said eight Ukrainian regions came under attack. Russia kept up its round-the-clock attacks on Kyiv, hitting an office block where four people were killed, Zelensky said. A 14-year-old boy was also killed in a Kyiv apartment building strike, and at least seven residents were injured, per officials. More here.
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