Zelenskyy awaits details after Trump declares energy ceasefire

US President Donald Trump said on 11 October that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate halt to attacks on energy facilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the announcement had not been communicated to Kyiv beforehand, but said Ukraine would accept such a ceasefire if Russia also did so; Russia had not publicly commented.¹²³

Ukraine seeks terms

Trump announced that an energy ceasefire was effective immediately and said both sides had agreed. The White House presented the announcement without publicly specifying terms, according to Axios. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was waiting for details from the US side and described the declaration as unexpected.¹³

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to refrain from attacks on Russian energy facilities if Russia showed the same readiness. He also said Ukraine could stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow halted strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. A senior Ukrainian official reportedly told the Guardian that Ukraine had received no information about the proclaimed agreement.¹²

Strikes continue

The ceasefire claim came as Ukraine said Russian drone and air attacks were continuing. Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck thermal power station No 5 in Kharkiv, while the BBC reported that he also said a drone had struck a power plant in Kyiv, causing power cuts, followed by attacks on energy sites in the north-eastern Kharkiv region.¹²

Russia has said the installations it attacks are legitimate targets because they support Ukraine's military operation, according to the BBC. Russia's military also said it had struck a logistics centre in Ternivka used for military and dual-use cargoes, as well as a vessel it said was carrying military cargo to Chernomorsk.¹²

France's President Emmanuel Macron said Russia was refusing an energy ceasefire through intensified strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supported Zelenskyy and his call for a ceasefire protecting food supplies and energy infrastructure, saying the conflict had entered a more severe phase.¹

Diesel deal draws opposition

Trump also said restrictions on Russian diesel exports would be removed under a plan for Russia to provide over 300,000 metric tons of diesel to markets in the United States and elsewhere. He said lower fuel prices would help before US midterm elections. Zelenskyy said lifting the sanctions would provide Vladimir Putin with billions in additional revenue.¹

Trump urged Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, according to the BBC, which reported that this was intended to allow Russia to meet the diesel arrangement. Seven US senators said the deal conflicted directly with a law barring Russian energy imports. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said it would put American lives at risk.²

Trump criticised Zelenskyy and said Ukraine needed a new leader. Zelenskyy told ABC that Ukraine would conduct elections should Putin accept a comprehensive ceasefire lasting 60 days. Oleksandr Merezhko, who heads Ukraine's foreign affairs committee, said Trump’s demand that Zelenskyy leave office had strengthened the Ukrainian president's domestic standing.¹