Russia hits energy targets amid U.S. ceasefire, Ukraine says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Russian leaders likely did not know of a partial ceasefire U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday. Trump had declared that Russia and Ukraine both agreed to stop strikes on energy infrastructure. While Ukraine refrained from such strikes Sunday night, Russia attacked gas stations and other energy sites, Zelenskyy said. It was a pity that Russia didn’t seem to know of the ceasefire, he said. It always found reasons to keep fighting the war, he added.

Zelenskyy previously told Axios that Trump’s announcement was news to him. However, he said he would respect the energy ceasefire if Russia did.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that Ukraine hadn’t earned a respite in fighting and that Russia didn’t believe Zelenskyy’s promises, according to state-run news outlet Tass. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia might be willing to pause strikes if Ukraine held elections, but would only do so on the specific election day, according to the outlet.

What about Trump’s recent deal with Russia? The U.S. president’s sudden announcement of the energy ceasefire came after he shared news of a diesel deal on Friday. Trump said at the time that Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the American and global marketplace, with further releases of increasing amounts planned over the next month. The deal would bring down energy prices worldwide, especially for Americans who needed it, he claimed.

Russia could deliver up to 3,000,000 tons of diesel, but that would depend on the condition of its oil refineries, he said. Ukraine said earlier this month that its strikes against Russia had taken out half of the country’s oil refining capacity. The deal also requires temporary easing of U.S. sanctions against Russia, a move many American lawmakers oppose.

Dig deeper: Read my report on a recent Russian strike in Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region.