Ukraine President Zelenskyy hopeful of meeting Donald Trump next week

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would meet US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week as Russia intensified strikes across his country. Zelensky said he would hold “a meeting with the President of the United States”, adding he would discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia during the talks with Trump. Ukraine has insisted on Western-backed security guarantees to prevent future Russian attacks.Headlining this year’s 80th General Assembly will be Trump, who calls for slashing US funding for the UN, stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the UN cultural agency Unesco. Trump will speak on Tuesday, eight months into a second term marked by severe US foreign aid cuts that have sparked global humanitarian chaos and raised questions about the UN’s future. (Inputs from AFP, Reuters)