Zelensky urges U.S. to sanction Russia ‘now’ over deadly strikes

Retired Maj.-Gen. David Fraser gives speaks on the significance of Russia’s 72-hour ceasefire, and what the U.S. hopes to achieve in meeting with Putin.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration should immediately impose new sanctions on Russia over recent deadly strikes on Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday.

The comments came after Zelensky announced he planned to meet Trump in late September, amid U.S.-led efforts to broker an end to the four-and-a-half year Ukraine war.

“Sanctions need to be imposed now,” Zelensky told the Yalta European Strategy forum.

“Honestly, I sometimes do not understand why decisions cannot be made quickly,” he added.

Zelensky separately called for a truce with Russia covering strikes on energy targets, saying Ukraine was ready to hit back if Moscow attacked his country’s energy grid over the winter.

“Russia knows that if they strike... they will receive the same in return,” he said.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have escalated long-range strikes on each other in recent months, as U.S.-led talks on ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II remain deadlocked.

An early morning Russian drone strike on a petrol station in Kyiv killed two people and hospitalized four, the city’s mayor said.