Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, apparently without consulting Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the agreement to end long-range attacks was “news to me.”
In a post on social media, the US president affirmed that the two parties had reached an agreement. “Effective immediately, there is an energy ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides agree. Do not break it!” he wrote about Truth Social.
He provided no further details. Zelensky said he was surprised by the announcement, but he would accept it if Vladimir Putin did the same. “If President Trump negotiated it with Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire will begin. We are ready and we will accept it,” the Ukrainian president told the Axios website.
Earlier, Zelensky rejected Trump’s demand on Saturday that kyiv stop bombing Russian oil refineries. Zelensky said Moscow must first stop its own “brutal” attacks on his country’s energy infrastructure.
Any agreement to end Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on targets in Russia should be “reciprocal”, he said. It should be supported by “real guarantees,” that is, punitive measures against Moscow from Ukraine’s allies, including the United States.
There was no indication that the Kremlin was honoring Trump’s ceasefire. According to Zelensky, Russian drones flew in the skies “all day” on Sunday. There were also “unfortunately” several airstrikes, he added, particularly on energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s president said the Russians had struck thermal power plant No. 5 in the eastern city of Kharkiv – the latest of more than 200 strikes this week against power generation and transmission facilities in Ukraine. There were 17 other attacks on gas and oil installations, he added.
The fast-paced feud between Washington and kyiv began Friday when Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports. He said the move would reduce global and domestic fuel prices ahead of next month’s U.S. midterm elections.
A furious Zelensky called the decision “weak” and said it would generate “billions” in additional revenue for Putin, allowing him to fight a war “even more intensely.” Trump, equally furious, said Zelensky should “stop” hitting Russian refineries. Ukraine needs a “new leader,” he said Saturday.
In response to Trump, Zelensky said it was up to Ukrainians to choose “one or the other leader.” He told ABC News he was willing to agree to Trump’s demands and hold an election, but only if Putin agreed to a “total” 60-day ceasefire.
The bitter public feud is the most serious between the United States and Ukraine since last year, when Trump berated Zelensky in the Oval Office.
The Financial Times, citing European officials, reported on Sunday that the United States was threatening to shut down the supply system that provides Ukraine with weapons to pressure kyiv to end its deep strikes against Russian energy infrastructure.
The New York Times reported that U.S. officials offered the Kremlin lucrative economic incentives in exchange for a ceasefire. These measures would include the release of billions in frozen Russian sovereign assets. The Trump administration also revisited a plan to sell parts of Russian energy company Lukoil. The multibillion-dollar deal would benefit Middle Eastern investors, the newspaper reported, some of whom have “business ties” with U.S. negotiators.
On Saturday, Trump criticized Zelensky and said he had refused to make a deal to end the fighting. In response, the Ukrainian president blamed “Russia and Russia alone” for the biggest war in Europe since 1945. “It is possible to stop strikes on energy infrastructure today, but Putin does not want to do it,” he said.
Ukrainian officials emphasize that the White House is demanding that kyiv give up its most effective weapon, without demanding corresponding concessions from Russia. In recent weeks, kyiv has dealt a major blow to the Russian economy, hitting oil complexes, warehouses and data centers.
Russia’s own bombing campaign has been relentless. On Saturday, it killed 23 people in the town of Zaporizhzhia, including four children, and hit a five-story building in the frontline town of Sloviansk. Zelenskyy said Moscow’s air campaign involved thousands of aerial bombs and jet drones. This continued “unabated,” he said.
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The head of Ukraine’s foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, said Trump’s “intimidation” demand for Zelensky to resign had “paradoxically” strengthened him at home, after recent damaging corruption scandals. “Putin’s plan is to decapitate Zelensky and remove him from his post as wartime leader. Trump is siding with Putin,” Merezhko said.
He added: “I fear that behind this situation is Trump’s worldview. He wants to do business with Putin. For him, Ukraine seems to be an obstacle to be eliminated. Trump and Putin want to pressure us into capitulating.”
Referring to the famous 1939 agreement between Nazi Germany and the USSR, Merezhko said: “We are moving towards a new Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and towards a world of strongmen and spheres of influence. »
Merezhko said Ukraine would continue to destroy enemy oil refineries, against the wishes of the United States, because they finance the Russian war machine and acknowledged that a disruption in US intelligence sharing with kyiv – threatened by the Trump administration – would “blind” Ukraine’s air defense systems. “It would be an act of complicity with Putin’s genocide. It would lead to more civilian deaths and more children,” he said.
Ukrainian negotiators were meeting in Florida with their American counterparts, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, when Trump announced that the United States was lifting sanctions on Russian diesel. Blinded, the Ukrainians returned home early. “It looked like a trap,” a stunned Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent newspaper.
On Sunday, Zelensky reinforced his support in a series of conversations with key allies, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Polish leader Donald Tusk and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Previously, Zelensky spoke with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Downing Street said Burnham acknowledged the last 24 hours had been “difficult” for Ukraine and “reiterated his full solidarity”.
Downing Street said the two leaders agreed to “keep up the pressure on Russia” and strengthen the sanctions regime, despite Trump’s efforts to the contrary. “Russia should agree to an immediate energy ceasefire, ending its brutal strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and attacks on shipping in the Black Sea,” a statement added.
Speaking over the weekend, Zelensky said Trump’s decision had empowered Putin and given him “extra money for war,” running into the millions and “maybe billions.” “It’s definitely not fair. It’s definitely not the way partners should act. And, in my opinion, it’s a weak decision,” he said.
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