Mon Sep 23 17:58:16 UTC 2024: ## Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Seeks Energy Support from Major Companies in New York
**NEW YORK** – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with executives from major energy companies at Bank of America’s New York headquarters on Monday to discuss Ukraine’s urgent need for power following Russia’s attacks on its energy infrastructure.
The meeting, which included Bank of America’s President of International Operations, Bernard Mensah, focused on how to address the critical energy crisis facing Ukraine as winter approaches. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid, heating, and water supplies in an effort to cripple the country’s infrastructure and demoralize its citizens.
The meeting comes as Ukraine faces a growing energy crisis following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Despite being in talks to replace Russian gas supplies with those from Azerbaijan, Ukraine has yet to reach an agreement.
“We have once again not just the prospect but the reality of Putin weaponizing winter, weaponizing the weather, to use energy as a weapon in his efforts to subjugate Ukraine,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a separate meeting in New York on Monday. Blinken also announced that G7 countries and other allies have mobilized over $4 billion for Ukraine’s energy supplies since the invasion.
Zelenskiy’s visit to New York also includes a speech at the UN General Assembly and a presentation of his “victory plan” to force Russia to end the war to US President Joe Biden, as well as to presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
First Piper 