Russia keeps hitting Ukraine's energy sites despite Trump's ceasefire claim

Russia kept up its attacks on Ukraine on Monday, including strikes on energy facilities, a day after US President Donald Trump announced that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an “energy ceasefire”. The Kremlin has still not said whether it will observe one.

“We support it, but I have not heard approval of this proposal from the Russian side,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Warsaw Security Forum by video. Russia struck a power plant in Kharkiv soon after Trump’s announcement. “It was clear that Putin does not read Truth Social,” he said.

“We will respond”

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would stop striking Russian oil refineries only if Moscow stopped attacking Ukraine’s power grid. “In Ukraine, we have just one oil refinery. And it was badly damaged by Russian strikes long, long ago,” he said. “We are ready to respect an energy ceasefire if Russia is ready to do the same.” He added a warning: “This winter, if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire, we will respond.”

He said Ukraine had not attacked any Russian refineries overnight, while Russia had struck a Ukrainian gas production facility. Asked whether Russia had signed up to the truce, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only: “Contacts are ongoing.”

Two Ukrainian officials said their American counterparts had called senior military commanders to warn that Washington would hold Kyiv responsible for any strike on Russian energy sites during the truce, and threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplied through the NATO-funded PURL scheme. There has been no on-record response from Washington.

Drones over Kyiv

Russian drones hit Kyiv twice on Monday. An evening strike on a 25-storey residential building in the Darnytskyi district killed a woman and injured 11 people, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Three more were hurt in a daytime attack. Russia also hit a Roshen confectionery factory in Vinnytsia; the company said a timely warning and quick evacuation had saved its workers.

On Sunday evening a drone attack on the village of Pisochyn near Kharkiv killed three people and injured nine, including children. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 121 drones and missiles overnight into Monday, of which 89 were shot down or suppressed.

Europe unconvinced

“We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief. “Personally, I would also welcome that the ceasefire would include people not being killed, not only energy.” On Monday EU foreign ministers adopted nearly 1,600 new sanctions listings aimed at Russia’s military industry, the bloc’s largest package yet.

A turbulent weekend

Trump announced the truce on Truth Social on Sunday. “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” he wrote. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” A similar claim on 14 September was not followed by any pause.

It capped a week of friction with Kyiv. On Friday Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel to bring down US fuel prices before the 3 November midterms, which Zelenskyy called a gift to Putin. On Saturday Trump blamed Zelenskyy for high diesel prices and said: “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal.” Six senators, four of them Republicans, have urged the administration to reverse the diesel deal.

Zelenskyy has said elections cannot be held in wartime, but offered to organise them if Putin agreed to a full 60-day ceasefire. Peskov said on Monday that Putin would be ready to halt strikes “specifically on election day” if Ukraine held a vote. He also backed Trump’s call for a new leader in Kyiv. “Either Zelensky takes on that responsibility and demonstrates that political will, or he does not,” he said. “So far, he has not.”