Zelensky says Ukraine could pause strikes on Russian energy if Moscow honors reciprocal deal
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would stop targeting Russian energy facilities if Russia reliably refrains from attacking Ukrainian infrastructure, but expressed doubt about Moscow's willingness to honor such an agreement.
Ukraine's president said the country would halt attacks on Russian energy sites provided Russia commits to a comparable restraint on Ukrainian electricity, energy facilities, critical infrastructure and food supply routes. Zelenskyy posted on X that the pause would depend on "reliable, long-term" guarantees from partners that Russia will not strike these targets, adding that a de-escalatory step could be a first move toward peace. He also noted that Ukraine views energy installations as legitimate military targets, citing recent strikes on two Russian oil refineries that he said fund Moscow's war effort.
The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on social media that both sides had agreed to stop hitting each other's energy assets and that the global rise in diesel prices is mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict rather than Iran. The White House did not comment on Zelenskyy's post. Meanwhile, diesel prices in the United States reached a record $6 per gallon, and tensions in the Middle East have risen following a drone attack on Saudi Arabia's east-west oil pipeline.