US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed surprise, saying the announcement was “news for me”.
Moscow had not immediately commented on Trump’s claim.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, disrupting electricity and heating supplies for millions of people during freezing weather. Ukraine, meanwhile, has systematically attacked Russian oil refineries, which it says help finance Moscow’s war effort.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, announced fresh power outages in Kyiv on Sunday amid continued attacks.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, offering no further details about the arrangement.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine was prepared to stop striking Russian oil refineries if Moscow halted its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Reacting to Trump’s announcement in an interview with Axios, Zelensky said the proposed ceasefire was “news for me”.
The announcement comes as energy prices remain a major concern in the United States. Gasoline and diesel prices have risen since late February, when joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil shipments from the Gulf.
‘Up to our people’
Trump’s announcement came amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv over a US-Russia agreement concerning diesel supplies.
Zelensky criticised the agreement as a “weak decision”, while several European allies of Ukraine pledged to maintain pressure on Moscow despite the deal.
Under the arrangement, Russia would release large quantities of diesel onto the global market in exchange for temporary sanctions relief.
Defending the deal on Saturday, Trump blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for rising diesel prices and added that it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president”.
Zelensky rejected the suggestion in an interview with ABC News on Sunday, insisting that the choice of Ukraine’s leader rested with its citizens.
“First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelensky said.
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, reaffirmed Berlin’s support for the Ukrainian president.
“Europe needs stability and that means that we are very clearly continuing to stay by the side of Ukraine and its government,” Wadephul said in Berlin on Sunday.
In Kyiv, several residents also expressed concern over Trump’s call for Zelensky to be replaced.
“I believe our president is the best, and Americans should think about their own president,” said Olesia Goncharuk, a 40-year-old resident, in comments to AFP.
“We Ukrainians decide our own fate and our own freedom, and we are free people,” she added.
The dispute between Trump and Zelensky underscores the continuing strains between Washington and Kyiv over the war, energy policy and the terms of any potential settlement.
AFP
