Ukraine is ready for an energy ceasefire with Russia, but Moscow has not yet made similar commitments, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Previously, President Donald Trump claimed that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed not to strike each other’s energy infrastructure, but this agreement has not been confirmed, and the strikes continue.
Negotiation details and Kyiv’s conditions
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the possibility of such a ceasefire was discussed during a recent visit to Kyiv by U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The President of Ukraine stated that Kyiv agreed to an energy ceasefire on the condition that Russia also stops all attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. “We never attack first. Our tactic is to respond where we can, because Putin does not respect and does not even think about negotiating with the weak,” said Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president emphasized that an energy ceasefire must cover various types of infrastructure: Russian oil and gas facilities, which Kyiv has been targeting, as well as the Ukrainian electricity and gas infrastructure that Moscow has repeatedly struck. “For Putin, energy is the sale of oil and gas. For us, energy is the availability of electricity and gas supply for our people,” he noted.
According to Zelenskyy, if Russia is ready for an energy ceasefire, it must mean “no strikes of any kind with any type of weapon on energy facilities.”
Kremlin reaction
The Kremlin called the proposal “a very good idea,” but Moscow has not yet announced a halt to its strikes on Ukraine. Instead, Kremlin-linked media framed the agreement as a unilateral measure, claiming that Kyiv would stop long-range strikes. There was no mention of stopping Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Moscow also linked the broader energy issue to safe commercial shipping, particularly for oil tankers, as well as the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries and other oil infrastructure, arguing that energy revenues help fund Moscow’s full-scale war. At the same time, Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine’s electricity and gas infrastructure, leaving the country and millions of Ukrainians particularly vulnerable as they prepare for another winter of war.
Source: Euronews
