Russia has violated an energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, urging Washington to step in to ensure that Moscow abided by the terms of the putative agreement.
“There were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelenskyy told a security conference in Warsaw via video link.
“We are waiting for the details of the conditions between the Americans and Russians, and we are waiting to see one specific step the Americans are ready to take,” added Zelenskyy, who said he had learned about the ceasefire deal from the media.
“This energy ceasefire, it can work, and it can become a major step toward ending the war if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russians respect it.”
A Monday statement from the Regional Prosecutor’s Office of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine said Russian forces had attacked an energy facility on the outskirts of the city.
That came after Zelenskyy said Sunday that while he “welcomed” Trump’s announcement, Russia was still hitting energy infrastructure in the capital Kyiv and in Kharkiv.
Trump’s brief social media post on Sunday announcing the purported agreement to mutually cease attacks on energy sites said only that the ceasefire took effect immediately, adding: “Do not break it!”
Trump had also claimed in a social media post on Sept. 14 that both countries had agreed “not to hit” each other’s energy infrastructure, but offered no details on that proposal either and nothing came of the purported agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a deal to import Russian diesel as fuel prices soar, reversing course on sanctions against Moscow. Ukraine is condemning the move, warning it will directly benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin says contacts ongoing
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.”
Ukraine, meanwhile, has levelled strikes against Russian energy sites like oil refineries, sometimes deep within Russian territory. That’s prompted Trump to blame Zelenskyy for high diesel prices in the U.S. only weeks before the country’s midterm elections.
The Kremlin said on Monday that contacts were ongoing about the possible energy ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on whether the ceasefire would apply only to oil refineries and said further information would be revealed in due course.
Peskov also rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Zelenskyy on Sunday to allow Ukraine to hold presidential elections, saying Russia wanted an overall peace deal instead.
“In the Kremlin, both President Putin and officials at other levels have repeatedly stated that we do not want a ceasefire,” the spokesman said. “We want long-term peace and are prepared to do everything possible to achieve it.”
A firefighter puts out a fire following a Russian air attack at a residential building in Kharkiv on Monday. (Andrii Marienko/The Associated Press)
EU foreign policy chief skeptical
The European Union’s top diplomat on Monday welcomed the prospect of a pause in energy strikes in Ukraine, particularly as winter approaches, but said she sees no sign that Russia would be willing to respect it.
“We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Luxembourg. “Personally, I would also welcome that the ceasefire would include people not being killed, not only energy.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Trump on Sunday and that he told the U.S. president that Ottawa has “strong support” for the energy ceasefire, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Sunday.
Kallas also emphasized the need for European countries to continue supporting Ukraine’s efforts to defend against Moscow’s full-scale invasion, even as Trump struck a deal on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the U.S. to purchase diesel from Moscow in an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of U.S. midterm elections.
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. According to an official read-out of the conversation. The two leaders under-scored the urgent need for Russia to immediately cease its strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. They also discussed their opposition to a recent deal between Washington and Moscow to supply millions of tonnes of diesel to the United States. And, Carney reaffirmed Canada’s support for Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainian and European officials reacted to the diesel deal with dismay, saying it will help pay for Russia’s war effort. On Monday, several EU foreign ministers said the diesel deal is unlikely to bring energy prices down, and appears aimed at helping Republicans win the midterms.
In a readout from the PMO on Sunday, Carney also told Zelenskyy that Canada believes the Trump-proposed diesel deal with Russia is “in direct opposition” to the goal of supporting Ukraine and that such a move would enrich the Kremlin and help finance its war effort.
Russian attack kills 3
Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack on the village of Pisochyn in the Kharkiv district on Sunday evening killed three people and injured nine others, including children, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Investigators said the attack occurred at approximately 7:25 p.m. local time, striking a densely populated area near apartment buildings and grocery stores and sparking a fire.
Ukrainian air defence forces shot down or suppressed 89 of 121 Russian drones overnight Monday, Ukraine’s air force said in a Telegram post. The attack involved one Kh-59 guided air-to-surface missile and 121 drones, including 76 jet-powered Shahed-type drones, the statement said.
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Strikes were recorded at 15 locations in Ukraine, while debris from downed drones fell at four locations.
Russia also attacked gas production facilities of Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz in the Kharkiv region overnight, causing a fire, the company said on Monday.
“The attack damaged critical equipment. Our employees are doing everything possible to repair the damage as quickly as possible and prevent risks to the stable operation of the energy system,” Naftogaz acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko said on Telegram.
The Russian Defence Ministry on Monday said its air defences overnight intercepted 151 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions as well as the illegally annexed Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea.
In a separate statement, the ministry said its forces overnight carried out drone strikes on Ukraine’s unspecified port infrastructure and a bulk carrier heading to Ukraine’s port city of Odesa with military cargo on board.
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