Trump announces “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine; Moscow yet to confirm as new Russian strikes hit Ukrainian energy sites

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, October 11, that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire”, meaning a halt to strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. “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 Truth Social, according to NBC News.

The post gave no details: not which facilities the agreement covers, nor how long it lasts. The White House did not elaborate, and there had been no confirmation from Moscow at the time of writing.

Zelensky: “good news for everyone”

Volodymyr Zelensky initially told Axios that the announcement was news to him, adding that if the Russians accept an energy ceasefire, Ukraine will too: “If President Trump negotiated it with Putin — please tell us when the ceasefire begins — we are ready and we will accept it.” He later said he had discussed the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and that Kyiv is awaiting details from the American side: “We discussed the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump. Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side,” he wrote on X.

In his main statement, the Ukrainian president called the announcement “good news for everyone” and stressed that what matters is that it becomes reality: “Today, there was a statement from the President of the United States that an energy ceasefire has been secured. This is good news for everyone – and it is important that it become reality.” He said Ukraine is ready not to strike Russian energy infrastructure and expects the same readiness from Russia, and that the Armed Forces have received “all relevant orders”. He also noted that Vladimir Putin had answered every previous de-escalation proposal with a “nyet”.

In an interview with ABC News’ “This Week”, Zelensky repeated that Ukraine would stop attacking Russian refineries if Moscow halted its attacks on Ukraine’s energy system: “Don’t attack us. Don’t kill our children. We will stop attack your diesel.”

New strikes after the announcement

The situation on the ground looked different. According to Zelensky, shortly before his call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a Russian Shahed drone hit a power plant in Kyiv, leaving many neighbourhoods without electricity. Later, energy facilities in the Kharkiv region were struck. “And this was AFTER the statement by the President of the United States on the energy ceasefire,” he said. The claims come from the Ukrainian side and have not been independently confirmed here.

Background: diesel and pressure on Kyiv

The announcement follows a week of tension between Washington and Kyiv. On Friday, October 9, Trump said he had agreed with Putin to ease U.S. sanctions on Russian fuel, with Russia to release 300,000 tons of diesel immediately (our report). On Saturday, October 10, he told Zelensky to stop hitting Russian refineries and said Ukraine needed a new leader (our report). A Ukrainian delegation had already travelled to the United States to discuss an energy ceasefire (our report). Zelensky called the diesel decision “weak”, while Putin said Russia was ready to supply oil to the U.S. (our report), and the deal has drawn bipartisan criticism in Congress (our report).

As NBC News recalls, Trump made a similar announcement about a month earlier, yet the two sides kept striking each other’s energy facilities. The key question now is whether Moscow will confirm the agreement and whether the attacks will actually stop.