Trump: Energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky: I didn’t know that – when does it start?
The US Treasury Secretary defends the diesel deal with Russia and criticises Europe. Von der Leyen: full support for Zelensky
Key points
US President Donald Trump has announced the immediate entry into force of a ceasefire on attacks on energy infrastructure in the war between Russia and Ukraine, claiming that both Moscow and Kyiv have accepted the agreement. The announcement came via a post on the Truth Social platform, in which the US President urged the parties to abide by the agreement.
“With immediate effect, an energy ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine comes into force. Both sides have agreed to it. Do not violate it!” wrote Trump. The US President did not provide any further details on the terms of the agreement, its duration or the arrangements for verifying compliance.
Zelenskyy did in fact say he knew nothing about it: ‘The announcement of the ceasefire came as a surprise to me. But if the Russians agree to an energy truce, Ukraine will agree to it. If President Trump has negotiated it with Putin – please tell us when the ceasefire will begin – we are ready and will accept it,” wrote journalist Barak Ravid on Axios and X, reporting on a conversation with the Ukrainian president. The Ukrainian Prime Minister himself stated that Russia had attacked a power station after Trump had announced the truce.
According to the Financial Times, which cites European sources, Trump is reportedly threatening to cut off the supply chain that provides weapons to Ukraine, in order to pressure Kyiv into suspending deep-strike attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Zelensky to Trump: it is up to the Ukrainians to choose their own leader
“It is up to the Ukrainians to choose their own leader,” said Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with ABC, responding to Donald Trump’s comments that Ukraine should hold an election. On Saturday, the US president had once again criticised the Ukrainian prime minister, saying, “It is time for Ukraine to have a new president,” and accusing him of refusing to reach an agreement to end the war and of causing problems for the world – including American farmers – through attacks on Russian refineries. The remarks came just a few hours after the bilateral agreement with Putin on diesel supplies, alongside the six-month suspension of US sanctions on diesel exports. The Ukrainian president told ABC that if Putin were to grant ‘a 60-day truce’, then ‘we will organise elections’.
