Russia Continues Striking Ukraine Energy Sites Despite Trump’s Claimed Ceasefire Agreement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Monday that Russia has continued targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure even after U.S. President Donald Trump declared the day before that both warring nations had agreed to an energy ceasefire in the conflict, which has now dragged on for more than four and a half years. Zelenskyy, who was speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland, said Ukraine first discovered the existence of this ceasefire arrangement not through any direct diplomatic communication but through media coverage. He indicated that Kyiv was prepared to honor the proposed mutual halt on strikes against energy sites, provided Moscow was willing to do the same.

“We support it, but I have not heard approval of this proposal from the Russian side,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump’s Sunday announcement came in the form of a brief social media post that offered little in the way of specifics. The post indicated that the energy ceasefire was effective immediately and included a pointed directive: “Do not break it!” However, when asked on Monday whether Russia had in fact agreed to any such arrangement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered only a vague response, saying: “Contacts are ongoing.”

Russian Energy Attacks Continue Despite Ceasefire Announcement

Zelenskyy described Ukraine’s reaction to the renewed strikes as one of shock. In the hours following Trump’s announcement, Russia struck multiple energy facilities — among them a power plant in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a gas production site, and a civilian gas station. Zelenskyy characterized Ukraine’s reaction as having been “horribly surprised” by the attacks, which came immediately after Trump’s public declaration that the ceasefire was already in force. His remark about Putin not reading Trump’s Truth Social platform captured the sharp disconnect between Washington’s public proclamation and events on the ground in Ukraine.

Weaponizing Winter: The Strategic Logic Behind Energy Strikes

Russia’s targeting of energy infrastructure is not accidental — it is a deliberate military strategy aimed at stripping Ukrainian civilians of electricity, heat, and running water in order to erode public morale and resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukrainian officials have described this approach as “weaponizing winter,” expressing concern that Russian strikes could escalate further as colder months approach and energy demand intensifies.

Ukraine, for its part, has carried out its own strikes against energy assets inside Russia, including oil refineries located far within Russian territory. Those Ukrainian strikes prompted Trump to publicly blame Zelenskyy for record diesel prices in the United States rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, and Trump subsequently struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import diesel from Russia, framing the arrangement as an effort to lower fuel costs ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

On Monday, Zelenskyy signaled that Ukraine was prepared to stop striking Russian oil refineries if Moscow agreed to halt its attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, and he urged Trump to press the Kremlin to formally commit. He also warned that if Russia refuses to observe an energy ceasefire through the winter, Ukraine will respond in kind.

“We are waiting for the details of the conversation between the Americans and the Russians, and we are waiting to see what specific steps the Americans are ready to take,” he said. “This energy ceasefire can work, and it can become a major step toward ending the war.”

EU Foreign Policy Chief Skeptical That Russia Will Honor Ceasefire Terms

Europe’s top diplomat signaled cautious support for the idea of pausing energy strikes in Ukraine while expressing deep reservations about Russia’s willingness to follow through. Speaking at a gathering of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas acknowledged the appeal of the proposal but stopped well short of endorsing it as a reliable development.

Kallas also pushed back on remarks Trump made Saturday suggesting it was time for Ukraine to find a new president and that Zelenskyy had not done enough to bring the war to a close. She argued that elections in Ukraine are not a realistic option under current conditions and that any such vote would require, at minimum, a genuine ceasefire to be in place first.

Trump’s deal with Putin to purchase Russian diesel drew criticism. A bipartisan coalition of six senators, four of them Republicans, called on the Trump administration on Sunday to immediately reverse the decision, arguing that the United States should “not provide Putin with a financial lifeline” at a time when Russian forces are actively killing Ukrainian civilians.

Casualties Mount as Zelenskyy Addresses Elections and Wartime Governance

Zelenskyy addressed Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine hold elections, stating flatly that conducting a vote during active wartime — particularly as Russia deploys attacks around the clock, both day and night — is not feasible. He said he would be willing to work toward organizing elections if Ukraine could secure a full ceasefire lasting at least 60 days. In response, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Putin would be willing to halt strikes on Ukraine specifically on election day. He dismissed Kyiv’s demand for a 60-day pause as a ploy to “gather their strength, heal their wounds, and continue the war.”

Meanwhile, the human cost of continued Russian attacks mounted. A drone strike on the village of Pisochyn in the Kharkiv district on Sunday evening killed three people and wounded nine others, including children, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators said the attack hit a densely populated area near apartment buildings and grocery stores, igniting a fire at the scene.

In Kyiv on Monday, two people were injured in Russian daytime strikes. Debris from downed Russian drones landed near private residential buildings in the Solomianskyi district and struck a warehouse in the Darnytskyi district, where falling wreckage also sparked a fire in a private home. Ukrainian air defense forces reported shooting down or neutralizing 89 of 121 Russian drones launched overnight Monday. The assault included one Kh-59 guided air-to-surface missile and 76 jet-powered Shahed-type drones, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Russia’s Defense Ministry, in turn, claimed its air defenses intercepted 151 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russian regions, the occupied Crimean peninsula, and the Black Sea. Russian forces also said they carried out drone strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure and targeted a bulk carrier reportedly transporting military cargo toward the port city of Odesa.

A Fragile Moment in an Unresolved War

As Russian missiles and drones continued to fall on Ukrainian energy sites in the hours after Trump’s announcement, the gap between Washington’s diplomatic declarations and battlefield reality remained as wide as ever. Zelenskyy’s willingness to honor a ceasefire stands in stark contrast to Moscow’s refusal to publicly confirm one, while Europe’s top diplomat voices doubt that Russia intends to respect any such arrangement. With winter approaching and Ukraine’s power grid already under sustained pressure, the fate of the proposed energy ceasefire may well determine how millions of Ukrainian civilians endure the months ahead — and whether Trump’s high-profile proclamation proves to be a turning point or yet another unfulfilled pledge in a war that has already outlasted countless promises of peace.