Trump, Zelenskyy Could Meet at U.N. as Poland Urges NATO No-Fly Zone Over Ukraine

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could meet next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, a development coming as Poland urges NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

Rubio told reporters that Trump has held multiple calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and multiple meetings with Zelenskyy and that the U.S. president "is trying to do everything possible to bring [the war] to an end." He said talks about security guarantees and a negotiated settlement are ongoing and that Trump will continue to press for peace if possible.

The potential meeting comes as Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, urged NATO allies to adopt a no-fly zone to protect Ukraine and neighboring NATO members from Russian aerial attacks and drones. Sikorski said in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that enforcing such a zone would require collective NATO and EU action and could not be decided by Poland alone.

NATO has repeatedly declined to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, mindful that enforcing such a measure would likely require shooting down Russian aircraft and could be construed by Moscow as direct involvement in the war. The alliance and the United States refused a similar request in 2022 when the idea was first advanced by Ukraine.

Polish officials have said that Russian drones have begun to violate their airspace more frequently. Polish forces shot down several drones during a cross-border incident in September, illustrating Warsaw’s immediate security concerns and the proximity of the conflict to NATO territory.

The call for a no-fly zone drew an immediate response from Moscow. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said in a Telegram post that NATO attempting to shoot down Russian UAVs would amount to "a war between NATO and Russia." Russian officials have consistently warned that strikes on Russian aircraft or missiles would cross a red line and risk wider confrontation.

Domestic and international pressure has increased on Trump to take a tougher line against Russia. Rubio said Trump may eventually conclude a negotiated settlement with Putin is not possible but that the president "is not there yet." Rubio argued that Trump is in a unique position to talk with leaders in Kyiv, Europe and Moscow and has not yet abandoned efforts to mediate the conflict.

Trump has publicly threatened sanctions on Moscow on several occasions since returning to office but has not yet implemented new financial measures despite issuing deadlines to Russian leaders in past months. U.S. officials and NATO partners have been weighing additional security guarantees to Ukraine that could be part of any settlement discussions.

A no-fly zone would require NATO countries to assume greater risk of direct engagement with Russian forces, a step alliance members have resisted since the invasion began. Analysts and officials say any shift in that stance would represent a major policy change and carry unpredictable security and diplomatic consequences.

If a Trump-Zelenskyy meeting occurs at the U.N., it would follow prior high-level contacts and come as allied capitals debate how far to go in defending Ukrainian airspace without triggering a wider war. The outcome of those deliberations, and any initiatives the two presidents discuss, will influence NATO’s calculus as member states respond to incursions near their borders and to Moscow’s repeated warnings against escalation.