Trump announces Russia-Ukraine 'energy ceasefire'; Kyiv says it is news to them, Moscow silent

Mixed · 2On Sunday 11 October, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social: "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" 1 2 Mixed · 2He gave no details of what the ceasefire covers, and it was not immediately clear how it would be monitored or enforced. 3 1 Mixed · 2There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios it was "news for me", but that if Russia agreed to an energy ceasefire, Ukraine would too. 2 4

Left · 1Zelensky also wrote on X that after talking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finland's Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, "Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side." 5 Mixed · 2Earlier on Sunday Zelensky repeated that Ukraine would stop hitting Russian oil refineries if Moscow halted its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. He also told ABC he would organise elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire. 6 2 Mixed · 2The announcement followed a tense week. On Friday 9 October the US agreed to lift sanctions on Russian fuel in a diesel deal with Moscow, which Trump said would see Russia release 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, then 500,000 tons in November and a million more after that. Trump has framed it as a way to ease fuel prices before the November midterms. 4 2

Mixed · 2Zelensky criticised the diesel deal, saying it "plays into Russia's hands" and would prolong the war. On Saturday Trump said "I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal" and that "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president", and demanded Kyiv stop striking Russian refineries. 3 6 Right · 1Zelensky has also said that holding a vote during the war would be unlawful and that Ukraine would need security guarantees. AP notes that Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022 and that its constitution bars elections while that remains in force. 7 Mixed · 2Trump has made a similar announcement before: in September he said both sides had agreed to an energy ceasefire, but Moscow did not publicly confirm it and attacks continued. 1 4

Right · 1A diplomatic source told the Jerusalem Post that Ukraine had repeatedly offered a reciprocal halt on energy attacks in recent weeks, but that Putin demanded sanctions relief on Russian oil and diesel instead. This is a single anonymous account. 8 Centre · 2Both countries have been hitting each other's energy systems. Russia has struck Ukrainian power plants and transmission lines, while Ukraine has stepped up long-range strikes on Russian refineries. In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham reiterated solidarity with Zelensky, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called Trump's diesel deal wrong. 2 3 Right · 1The strikes continued on both sides on the day of the announcement. AP reported that a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday halted a Yandex data center in Vladimir, the third strike on the company's facilities in four days, and that Zelensky said 23 people, including four children, were killed in a Russian bombing of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday. 7

Right · 1Breitbart reported that Ukraine's Defence Ministry claims its strikes have taken 51 per cent of Russia's oil refining capacity offline, and that territory remains unresolved, with Moscow demanding all of Donbas and Kyiv refusing. 9 Mixed · 2European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she fully supported Zelensky's call for an energy ceasefire. The Daily Mirror cited claims that the diesel deal, which it put at 1.8 million tonnes plus a further 3 million, would give the Kremlin $4.5bn; this differs from the volumes in other reports. 10 5