Russian Strike Hits Kharkiv Power Plant After Trump Announces Energy Ceasefire
Russian forces struck a thermal power plant in Kharkiv immediately after US President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Moscow of violating the deal.
Russian Strike Follows Trump Ceasefire Announcement
Zelenskyy stated that Russia struck the power plant in Kharkiv shortly after Trump's announcement on Sunday. [4] Russian forces struck a power plant in Kharkiv shortly after Trump's announcement on Sunday. [4] Ukrainian officials said Monday that Russia has continued to strike Ukraine's energy facilities even after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a day earlier that the warring countries had agreed on an "energy ceasefire" in the 4 1/2yearold war. [5] President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of violating the energy ceasefire announced by Donald Trump after a strike on a thermal power plant in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. [3] Under pressure over high energy prices ahead of US midterm elections next month, President Trump had blindsided Kyiv and its European allies by announcing that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed an energy ceasefire over the weekend. [3]
Casualties and Damage in Kharkiv
Russian attacks killed six people in two different cities on Sunday. [3] At least 12 people were also wounded in several Russian attacks on Kharkiv on Monday morning, mayor Ihor Terekhov said. [3] As rescue teams picked through the wreckage of attacks in Kharkiv, witness Nataliia Minka said she had just made it to a shelter when a missile struck nearby. [3] “Ten minutes had passed since they promised they wouldn’t target energy facilities, and there have already been five strikes. My child and I saw a missile hit Thermal Power Plant No. 5 and watched it burn there. It’s horrific,” she said. [3] “It’s so hard to describe how a child was lying there, already covered up, and the father was running around her, crying and screaming,” she added. [3] “It’s so terrifying — it’s impossible to get through something like this.” [3]
Zelenskyy's Response and Conditions for Ceasefire
Zelenskyy said he was still awaiting details of the deal, with Kyiv wary of any agreement that it feels could hand Russia an advantage by forcing Ukraine unilaterally to halt attacks on Russian refineries. [3] “There were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelenskyy told a conference in Warsaw via video link. [3] “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,” said Zelenskyy, who said he had learned about the ceasefire deal from the media. [3] “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.” [3] Zelenskyy said Ukraine had carried out no attacks on Russian refineries overnight but he made clear that if Russia wanted Kyiv to suspend these attacks it must stop hitting Ukraine’s energy system and critical infrastructure. [3] Russia has yet to comment. [3] Speaking by video link at the Warsaw Security Forum, Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck a power plant in Kharkiv shortly after Trump's announcement on Sunday. [4]
Kyiv Drone Attack Injuries
Three people were injured in Kyiv in a Russian drone attack on 12 October. [1] Drone debris fell on a house in the Darnytskyi district and near residential buildings in the Solomianskyi district. [1] The number of people injured in the capital has risen to three. [1] Drone debris fell on a house in the Darnytskyi district and on an open area near houses in the Solomianskyi district. [1] Emergency services were dispatched to both locations. [1] Klitschko initially reported one person injured, who received medical assistance at the scene. [1] He later reported another injured person, an elderly woman who was also treated at the scene. [1] The number of injured subsequently rose to three. [1]
International Reactions and EU Sanctions
As its officials voiced scepticism over the ceasefire, the European Union urged the US to keep pressure on Moscow and approved new sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex. [3] The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would prefer a ceasefire “which includes people not being killed” and that it was not clear whether Russia would stick to it. [3] “We would call the US to get the sanctions in place so that we could actually finish the war,” she said at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. [3] French President Emmanuel Macron said he had not seen any signs in the last 48 hours of Russia respecting any form of energy ceasefire deal. [3] To maintain pressure on Moscow, European Union ministers adopted nearly 1,600 new sanctions listings targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex, Kallas said. [3] “More than half are connected to the production chain for ballistic missiles,” she said in a post on X. [3]
Background on Trump Pressure and Prior Announcements
Trump wants Ukraine to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries, blaming those strikes for a rise in diesel prices that is hurting his Republican Party ahead of US midterm elections. [3] In a dramatic deterioration in relations, Trump on Saturday warned Zelenskiy that he had “better damn well stop” attacking Russian refineries, and urged Ukrainians to replace their leader at new elections. [3] Elections have been suspended in Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion. [3] Zelenskiy said he would call a vote if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and that it was “up to Ukrainians” to choose their leader. [3] Trump, whose war in Iran has been widely blamed for hiking global fuel prices, had previously announced an energy ceasefire in Ukraine in mid-September, although neither side ever confirmed that such an agreement had been reached. [3] Zelenskiy has rejected that he was to blame for energy price rises, adding that “everybody in the world” knew that the war in the Middle East was a bigger factor. [3]
What to watch next: Officials will monitor whether Russia halts strikes on Ukraine’s energy system as a condition for any suspension of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, while the EU continues pushing the US for sustained pressure on Moscow through sanctions.
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