Lithuania

Vilnius, September 22, 2026. On the eve of the United Nations summit, the meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump at the Trump Tower in New York is holding Lithuanian attention less for its diplomatic backdrop than for what the mentioned moratorium would leave open. According to Reuters, cited by 15min, Macron described the conversation as "very good" and "very constructive", stating that the two leaders discussed an initiative to establish a moratorium on strikes against energy facilities, on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides. He specified that he wants to raise the issue with Zelensky on the same day and hopes for progress during the UN summit.

But the Lithuanian press is placing this moratorium alongside another event from the weekend: Ukraine's first use of the "Pelican" ballistic missile (FP-7), announced on Sunday by Zelensky on Telegram, against a refinery and a logistics site in the Moscow region. Russian authorities confirmed damage to the Kapotnia refinery and two deaths near Sofyino; Zelensky mentioned "billions of dollars that fuel the Russian war machine". The contrast is clear: Paris is seeking to freeze strikes on energy at a time when Kyiv has just expanded its strike range.

The other aspect that Vilnius is focusing on is the condition set by Zelensky. When asked by CBC News, relayed by RBC-Ukraina, he said he could consider a meeting with Putin only if it has "practical scope", recalling that he still sees him as an enemy whose goal remains to occupy Ukraine if it is not strong enough or lacks security guarantees. On the Russian side, Peskov is mentioning the hope of a new trilateral meeting with the United States, and Lavrov is stating that Moscow is ready for a new stage of negotiations, without lifting its demands.

Finally, 15min is linking American pressure to an economic motive acknowledged by Trump himself: Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, he says, are exacerbating the global diesel shortage and the rise in fuel prices, an argument he would have already made to Zelensky over the phone before their meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, in New York. Vilnius is reading this as a two-speed moratorium: suspended on the Ukrainian side under American pressure, without a clear symmetrical counterpart on the Russian side.