Washington, October 2026 : US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced an immediate “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, claiming that both sides had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had not been informed of the arrangement, while Moscow had yet to confirm the announcement.
“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 his Truth Social platform.
The White House echoed the announcement on X approximately 20 minutes later, posting: “Effective Immediately: An Energy Ceasefire in the War between Russia and Ukraine.”
Trump did not disclose when the agreement was reached, which energy facilities would be covered, how long the proposed truce would remain in force or what mechanism would be used to monitor compliance.
Neither the Kremlin nor the Ukrainian government issued a formal confirmation in the hours following the announcement, leaving the status and scope of the proposed ceasefire unclear.
Speaking to Axios shortly after Trump’s post, Zelensky said the announcement had come as a surprise to him but indicated that Kyiv would support the arrangement if Russia agreed to observe it.
“The ceasefire announcement was news for me. But if Russians agree to an energy ceasefire, Ukraine will agree,” Zelensky said.
He added that if Trump had negotiated the arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Washington should clarify when it would take effect. “We are ready and we will accept it,” Zelensky said.
A senior Ukrainian official also told the Kyiv Independent that Kyiv had received no information about the ceasefire and expressed doubts that Moscow had been formally notified.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky had proposed a reciprocal suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure. “Ukraine will be ready to stop striking Russian oil refineries if Russia stops striking our energy infrastructure,” he wrote on X. He stressed that any de-escalation should be mutual and supported by credible guarantees.
The announcement came amid wider disagreements over Washington’s approach to the conflict. Two days earlier, Trump had unveiled an agreement with Putin to release Russian diesel into American and global markets. The move drew criticism from Ukraine, European officials and lawmakers from both major US political parties.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control subsequently issued General License 135, authorising certain transactions involving Russian-origin diesel through April 2027.
On Saturday, Trump criticised Zelensky over continued Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and said Ukraine should “get a new leader who can make a deal”.
The latest announcement also follows an earlier claim by Trump last month that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities. According to Axios, neither side confirmed that arrangement at the time, and attacks on energy infrastructure continued.
With no formal confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv, it remained uncertain whether Sunday’s announcement would translate into an operational ceasefire or produce a measurable reduction in attacks on energy facilities.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
