Zelenskyy warns Kremlin to know bomb shelters as Axios interview follows UN address

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Kremlin leaders to "know where the bomb shelters are" in an Axios interview published after his address to the United Nations General Assembly, describing that discussions with U.S. leadership have touched on possible strikes against Russia's energy and infrastructure targets.

He said he had received express permission from President Donald Trump to carry out such strikes and that he had asked Washington to supply a weapons system he said could pressure Vladimir Putin to negotiate, though he declined to name the system. "They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day, we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them," Zelenskyy told Axios.

Zelenskyy described a dynamic in which Trump acknowledged what Ukraine needs, but he added that possessing the system would be an "additional pressure" on Putin to sit down for talks, emphasizing that having it would not automatically mean it would be used. "President Trump knows, I told him yesterday what we need, one thing. We need it, but it doesn't mean that we will use it. Because if we'll have it, I think it's additional pressure on Putin to sit and speak," he said, adding that he declined to name the weapon.

Zelenskyy’s remarks come as he met with Trump at the United Nations this week, a gathering that has seen U.S. rhetoric on Ukraine shift in tandem with Kyiv's expectations for Western support. Trump publicly argued that Kyiv could retake all of the territory it had lost with the backing of Europe and NATO, calling for reunified borders if time, patience, and financing allow it.

That stance marks a reversal from Trump's earlier posture after he re-entered office, including an Oval Office meeting in February in which he told Zelenskyy he "didn't have the cards" to take on Russia and suggested Kyiv would need meaningful concessions to end the war.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on Zelenskyy's claims, and there was no independent verification at the time of publication.

Zelenskyy's appearance at the United Nations and the Axios interview illustrate Kyiv's effort to keep Western allies aligned as battle lines shift and Russia presses on multiple fronts. The conflicting signals from Washington—public calls for pressure on Moscow paired with discussions of assistance—and Kyiv's repeated calls for stronger weaponry underscore the broader strategic stakes in the war.