U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a ceasefire on attacking each other’s respective energy industries, which have increasingly become targets as the war on the frontline has largely devolved into a stalemate.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday morning, President Trump wrote: “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!”
The announcement, the scope of which has yet to be clarified by the White House, came hours after Mr Trump engaged in a public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking from the White House lawn on Saturday, Trump suggested the Ukrainian people should replace Zelensky with a leader “who can make a deal”, hinting that his counterpart in Kyiv has been the main stumbling block to a peace deal with Russia.
The president’s comments came after Zelensky sharply criticised a deal struck between Washington and Moscow on Friday that would immediately allow hundreds of thousands of tonnes — and eventually millions of tonnes — of Russian oil to enter global energy markets to cut pump prices.
Zelensky claimed that such a deal would only serve to swell the coffers of the Russian war machine and to launch further attacks on Ukraine.
For several months, Kyiv has ramped up its targeting of Russian energy infrastructure with long-range drone and missile strikes under the premise that oil exports are key to funding the war effort and therefore justifiable military targets.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry claimed its strikes have taken 51 per cent of Russia’s oil refining capacity offline, with refineries in Moscow, Perm, Saratov, Syzran, Ust-Luga, and Yaroslavl purportedly suffering heavy damage.
Meanwhile, in response to President Trump’s suggestion that he be removed, President Zelensky said he would be willing to hold elections in Ukraine, which have been cancelled since 2024 under martial law, if Vladimir Putin agrees to a two-month ceasefire.
Speaking to U.S. broadcaster ABC on Sunday morning, the Ukrainian leader said: “First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader. Yes, we are in war, and to do elections is really difficult… but the main thing is to get security infrastructure for this, to give the possibility for people to vote.”
“I know that Putin wanted very much to change the president in Ukraine, I understand it. And if President Trump really wants to have some changes during elections, I also shared this with his team: Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections. Of course, we will be ready for any choice of our people, exactly Ukrainian people.”
Addressing attacks on energy infrastructure prior to the announcement from President Trump, Zelensky told the broadcaster: “I said it to President Trump … to his team and to his people several times: we want peace, we are ready for [a] ceasefire, we are ready to begin from any kind of steps of de-escalation,
“And if the Russians want us not [to] attack their diesel, their refineries and etc., we are asking President Trump, give them signal not attack energy infrastructure of Ukraine.”
Zelensky said that although he did not consider it “the best deal”, ceasefires, including on energy, were an important first step toward ending the conflict.
While there have been some meetings of the two sides brokered by the Trump administration, the issue of territory has remained outstanding, with Moscow demanding that Ukraine cede the entirety of the Donbas region, even areas which the Russian military has failed to conquer. Kyiv, for its part, has refused, arguing it would only serve as a staging ground for future attacks on its territory.