Kyiv has accused Russia of violating a supposed ceasefire on targeting energy infrastructure by launching new strikes, Reuters reported Monday. The overnight attacks killed several people and wounded dozens, and Ukraine called them a each of a truce on such targets announced by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump, under pressure over high energy prices ahead of U.S. midterm elections, surprised Kyiv and its European allies by declaring that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy systems. Trump also unveiled a deal to purchase diesel from Russia.
Ukraine's European allies voiced skepticism about any such ceasefire and urged the U.S. to maintain pressure on Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said he only learned of the purported ceasefire from the media, announced that a Russian jet-powered drone had struck a gas production facility in Ukraine at midnight.
“There were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelenskiy told a conference in Warsaw via video link. "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," he added.
The Ukrainian president said his country had not attacked any Russian refineries overnight but made it clear that if Russia wants Kyiv to suspend such attacks, it must stop hitting Ukraine's energy system. He also said that elections, suspended during wartime, could be held if Moscow agreed to a full 60-day ceasefire.
Russia, for its part, rejected Zelenskiy's 60-day truce proposal while acknowledging that talks about a possible energy ceasefire were ongoing. "We do not want a ceasefire," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "We want long-term peace and are prepared to do everything possible to achieve it."
Source: Reuters
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