Zelenskiy Meets World Leaders Amid Continued War Efforts

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in New York for a UN meeting, held talks with leaders from Germany, India, and Japan. The discussions focused on support for Ukraine's war efforts and energy aid. Zelenskiy will later travel to Washington to influence U.S. policy on the war.

KYIV, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is in New York for the meeting of world officials at the United Nations, held talks on the sidelines with German, Indian and Japanese leaders on Monday to shore up support for Kyiv's war efforts. 'We talked about how to make a just peace closer,' Zelenskiy said on his Telegram messaging app after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 'The main thing is to maintain unity.'

Germany has been one of the most significant backers in Europe of Kyiv's defensive fight against Russia. The full-scale Russia invasion of Ukraine, or 'special military operation' as Moscow calls it, began in Feb 2022 and has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions more, and turned Ukrainian towns and cities into rubble.

Post U.N. sessions, Zelenskiy is to travel to Washington later in the week to present his 'victory plan' and influence White House policy on the war, regardless of the upcoming U.S. election results. Zelenskiy also met with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that 'We are dynamically developing our relations'. Reuters reported earlier that artillery shells sold by Indian arms makers were rerouted to Ukraine by European customers, while India did not stop this trade despite protests from Moscow. India has strong ties with Russia and has not joined the Western-led sanctions against Moscow.

Zelenskiy subsequently held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Japan's energy aid to Kyiv. 'Restoring our energy supply after Russian shelling and preparing for winter are tasks we are actively working on now,' Zelenskiy remarked on Telegram after the meeting. Japan has been one of several nations sending support, including $4.5 billion this year. According to the Japanese foreign ministry website, Japan has also provided restoration equipment to increase the capacity of Ukraine's power system amid continuous Russian energy infrastructure strikes. The International Energy Agency reported that Ukraine's electricity shortfall could reach about a third of the expected peak demand during these attacks and the ending gas supply contract later this year.

(With inputs from agencies.)