Under pressure over high energy prices ahead of US midterm elections next month, Trump blindsided Kyiv and its European allies over the weekend by declaring that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to hit each other's energy systems. "It is increasingly evident that Russia is unwilling to accept an energy ceasefire proposed by the United States and intends to continue its terrorist air attacks against our people and communities," Zelenskiy said on X. "This is what happens when Russia sees the prospect of higher revenues for its war machine." In earlier comments by video link to a conference in Poland, Zelenskiy identified two of the targets as a gas facility and a petrol station, both hit by Russian drones. Trump announced the purported energy ceasefire days after unveiling a deal to buy diesel from Russia, which Zelenskiy has criticised as a reversal of years of Western policy aimed at isolating Russia's economy. Trump, for his part, has called on Ukrainians to unseat Zelenskiy in an election, an unusually severe exchange in a relationship between the two leaders that has been strained since Trump returned to power in 2025. Russian President Vladimir Putin's point man for oil, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, said Moscow would be able to return diesel exports to levels above those Trump outlined under the diesel deal. Trump defended the deal as US lawmakers from both major parties complained that it appeared to violate US law. The president's envoys told Ukrainian officials last week that the deal sought to draw Russia back to talks on ending the war, three people familiar with the meeting told Reuters. Trump's weekend announcement on an energy ceasefire was the second time within a few weeks that Trump had issued such a declaration without confirmation from the two warring sides. Ukraine's European allies on Monday voiced scepticism of any such agreement, spoke in support of Kyiv and approved the largest set of EU sanctions since Russia's 2022 invasion. "Russia will only negotiate seriously under pressure, which is why we are sticking to our sanctions against Russia," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. Kremlin: 'No ceasfire' Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries and logistics with long-range strikes, its answer to more than four-and-a-half years of relentless Russian attacks on its cities, including persistent campaigns to knock out Ukraine's power and heat in successive winters. Zelenskiy said Ukraine had carried out no attacks on Russian refineries overnight and was willing to agree an energy ceasefire, but said it was "increasingly clear" Russia would not abide by it. He also said elections, suspended during wartime, could be held if Moscow agreed to a full ceasefire for 60 days. Russia said talks were proceeding about a possible energy ceasefire, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said further information would be revealed in due course. But he rejected Zelenskiy's proposal for a full 60-day truce. "In the Kremlin, both President (Vladimir) Putin and officials at other levels have repeatedly stated that we do not want a ceasefire," said Peskov. "We want long-term peace and are prepared to do everything possible to achieve it." Body In Kyiv, a new Russian strike on a high-rise apartment block killed two people and injured at least nine, while attacks in other regions killed at least six people, officials said. New strikes also targeted Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city in the northeast. Ukraine's Emergency Services said 11 people had been injured in evening attacks, including one strike which triggered the collapse of an entrance to an apartment building. Overnight attacks killed at least three people in Kharkiv and further strikes in the morning wounded at least 22. Three people were killed near Kramatorsk one of Ukraine's "fortress cities" in eastern Donetsk region that Russian forces have set their sights on in their slow advance westward. In Kharkiv, Nataliia Minka said she had just made it to a shelter when a missile struck nearby. She and her child had seen what they believed to be a missile hitting a power station. "Ten minutes had passed since they promised they wouldn’t target energy facilities," she said. "It’s so hard to describe how a child was lying there, already covered up, and the father was running around her, crying and screaming," she added. Russia began its latest strike campaign on Ukraine's grid two weeks ago, already causing daily, hours-long power cuts in Kyiv, affecting the capital's water and sewage systems and twice bringing its underground trains to an abrupt halt. To maintain pressure on Moscow, European Union foreign ministers on Monday added 1,569 new names to their sanctions list of banned individuals and businesses, billed as the largest single package to date. Trump has increasingly blamed Kyiv's attacks on Russian refineries for surging global costs for fuel, especially diesel, which has hit record U.S prices since he launched his military campaign against Iran. On Saturday, he said Zelenskiy had "better damn well stop" attacking Russian refineries.
