Russian Strikes Hit Ukrainian Energy Sites Hours After Trump Announces Ceasefire
Russian strikes hit Ukrainian energy facilities and residential areas overnight and into Monday, killing at least six civilians and wounding dozens in what Kyiv described as violations of a newly announced energy ceasefire by US President Donald Trump.
Russian Strikes Follow Trump Ceasefire Announcement
Waves of Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight and into Monday killed several people and wounded dozens, including attacks on energy facilities. [1] In Kharkiv, nighttime strikes killed at least three people, and morning attacks on residential buildings wounded at least 22 more. [1] At least three other people were reported killed on Sunday in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. [1] Rescue workers in Kharkiv picked through wreckage of shattered buildings, where the body of a dead civilian in jeans and white sneakers lay beneath debris lit by floodlights. [1] Nataliia Minka said she had just made it to a shelter when a missile struck nearby, and she and her child had seen what they believed to be a missile hitting a nearby power station. [1] She added that ten minutes had passed since they promised they wouldn’t target energy facilities. [1] Minka described how a child was lying there already covered up while the father ran around crying and screaming, calling it terrifying and impossible to get through. [1] A person familiar with the situation said the US had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine and supplies of weapons. [1]
Zelenskiy Accuses Russia of Violating Energy Ceasefire
Zelenskiy, who has said he learned of Trump’s purported energy ceasefire only from the media, stated that a Russian jet-powered drone had hit a gas production facility in Ukraine at midnight and a petrol station had been struck by several drones. [1] “There were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelenskiy told a conference in Warsaw via video link. [1] He said Ukraine had carried out no attacks on Russian refineries overnight but made clear that if Russia wanted Kyiv to suspend them it must stop hitting Ukraine’s energy system. [1] Zelenskiy told Fox News that Russia continued attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure despite Trump’s announcement, accusing Vladimir Putin of rejecting Washington’s peace efforts. [4] “We are ready today for energy ceasefire, as President Trump said. But I’m not sure that Putin is ready because even after yesterday’s messages from the president about energy ceasefire, Putin attacked our gas infrastructure,” Zelenskiy said in the interview. [4] He insisted that Kyiv had already refrained from striking Russian energy facilities overnight. [4] “We didn’t attack any energy objects on the territory of Russia because President Trump said that there will be an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. And we didn’t attack, but Russia attacked our gas stations, energy infrastructure, infrastructure and other things,” Zelenskiy stated. [4] He described the attacks as Putin’s response to Trump’s initiative. [4]
Trump’s Announcement and Moscow’s Response
Under pressure over high energy prices ahead of US midterm elections next month, US President Trump declared that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed not to hit each other’s energy systems. [1] Trump’s announcement of an energy ceasefire appeared similar to one he announced a month ago, which neither side ever confirmed. [1] Russia said talks were ongoing about a possible energy ceasefire, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said further information would be revealed in due course. [1] But Peskov also rejected Zelenskiy’s proposal for a 60-day truce, stating that in the Kremlin both President Vladimir Putin and officials at other levels have repeatedly stated that they do not want a ceasefire but want long-term peace. [1] Trump announced Sunday on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate halt to attacks on energy facilities, though Moscow has not confirmed accepting such an agreement. [4] According to Axios reporting Sunday, a White House official said the proposal initially focused on halting attacks on oil refineries, with a broader ceasefire covering power plants and electricity grids potentially following, and the official acknowledged that Russia had not yet agreed. [4]
European Allies Urge Pressure and New Sanctions
Ukraine’s European allies voiced scepticism of any such energy ceasefire and urged the US to keep pressure on Moscow, while the EU approved its own largest set of sanctions since the full-scale invasion in 2022. [1] The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would prefer a wider ceasefire which includes people not being killed, and that it was not clear whether Russia would stick to it. [1] “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. [1] Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Moscow will only negotiate seriously under pressure, which is why they are sticking to sanctions against Russia, and that following Moscow’s ruthless attacks on Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure they must actually tighten them further. [1]
Tensions Over Ukrainian Attacks on Russian Refineries
In recent months, Ukraine has increasingly been targeting Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs, its answer to four-and-a-half years of relentless Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, including a persistent campaign to knock out Ukrainian heat and power particularly in the winter. [1] Trump has become increasingly impatient, blaming Kyiv’s attacks on Russian refineries for the surge of costs for fuel, especially diesel, to record prices since he launched his military campaign against Iran. [1] On Saturday he said Zelenskiy had better damn well stop attacking Russian refineries. [1] Zelenskiy pushed back on Trump’s refinery demands during the Fox News interview, arguing that a ceasefire limited to refineries would fail to address Ukraine’s greatest vulnerability in its electricity supply. [4] “When we speak about energy ceasefire, it means only one thing: that they don’t attack our energy infrastructure, and we don’t respond to their energy infrastructure. This is called energy ceasefire,” Zelenskiy said. [4] He gave a conditional commitment that if Russia will not attack Ukraine’s energy, Ukraine will not attack the energy. [4] Zelenskiy challenged Trump’s assessment of what is driving diesel prices, pointing instead to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. [4] “Everybody understands that the price on diesel doesn’t depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia. Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking of Hormuz Strait,” he said. [4]
Dispute Over Ukrainian Elections During Wartime
Trump has also unveiled a deal to buy diesel from Russia and called on Ukrainians to replace their wartime leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in elections. [1] Over the weekend, Trump criticized Zelenskiy and suggested Ukraine needed a new president, arguing that Kyiv had missed opportunities to reach a negotiated settlement with Russia. [4] “If President Trump wants to change the leader in Ukraine, he has to know that only our people can change,” Zelenskiy responded. [4] He said he was willing to organize an election but argued that voting remained impossible without a substantial pause in hostilities. [4] “I’m ready for elections. Really, we need a minimum 60 days for security of infrastructure to prepare for elections,” Zelenskiy said. [4] He described continuing Russian drone and missile attacks as an immediate threat to voters, noting thousands of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. [4] Zelenskiy also said elections, suspended during wartime, could be held if Moscow agreed to a full ceasefire for 60 days. [1] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected the prospect of a 60-day ceasefire to facilitate Ukrainian elections, arguing that European countries would use the pause to replenish Ukraine’s weapons supplies. [4]
What to watch next: Zelenskiy said he is waiting for the details of the conditions between the Americans and Russians and waiting to see one specific step the Americans are ready to take, while stating that the energy ceasefire can work and become a major step toward ending the war if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russians respect it. [1]
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