US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded with surprise. Moscow has not commented.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, giving no further details.
Zelensky told Axios the announcement was “news for me.” Earlier Sunday, he had repeated that Ukraine would stop hitting Russian oil refineries if Russia curbed its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Since invading in February 2022, Russia has launched waves of strikes that cut power and heating to millions of Ukrainians in freezing weather. Ukraine has struck Russian refineries it says fund the war. On Sunday, DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy provider, announced fresh outages in Kyiv amid the attacks.
Fuel prices at US pumps have surged since late February, when joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran led Tehran to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for Gulf oil exports.
