Russia strikes energy facilities despite Trump claim of an energy ceasefire, says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia has continued to strike Ukraine’s energy facilities even after US President Donald Trump said a day earlier that the warring countries had agreed on an energy ceasefire in the 4 helf year-old war.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had learned through media reports that Trump had secured an energy ceasefire deal with Russia which would involve a mutual pause in strikes on energy sites. Zelenskyy said he would be willing to honour such an agreement if Moscow did the same.

Trump’s brief social media post on Sunday claiming the purported agreement offered few details but said that the energy ceasefire took effect immediately, adding: “Do not break it!”

Yet Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been “horribly surprised” that following Trump’s “sudden but very important post,” Russia had struck numerous energy facilities including a power plant in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, as well as a gas production facility and a civilian gas station. “It was clear that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not read Truth Social,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Trump’s social media platform. Trump previously announced a similar agreement on ceasing energy strikes that did not come to fruition. In a social media post on Sept. 14, he said both countries had agreed “not to hit” each other’s energy infrastructure, but offered no details on that proposal either.

Russia has used attacks on energy facilities in order to deny Ukrainian civilians power, heat and running water during the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter,” and fear Russia could ramp up such attacks as cold weather approaches. On Monday, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to comply with Trump’s requests to stop striking Russian refineries if Moscow halted attacks on Ukraine’s energy system, and asked Trump to press the Kremlin to agree.

He added that if Moscow does not agree to an energy ceasefire this winter, “we will respond.”

“We are waiting for the details of the conversation between the Americans and the Russians, and we are waiting to see what specific steps the Americans are ready to take,” he said. “This energy ceasefire can work, and it can become a major step toward ending the war.”