Donald Trump has announced an immediate energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, only for Volodymyr Zelensky to reveal he had not been informed of the supposed agreement, casting fresh doubt over Washington’s efforts to halt the war.
The US President declared that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop attacks on energy infrastructure, issuing an extraordinary public warning to both sides not to violate the arrangement.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on social media.
“Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!”
But the announcement quickly became confusing when Ukraine’s president said the deal was “news to me”, raising questions about what had actually been agreed, when it would begin, and whether Vladimir Putin had committed to stopping Russian strikes.
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“The ceasefire announcement was news for me. But if Russians agree to an energy ceasefire, Ukraine will agree,” Mr Zelensky told Axios.
“If President Trump negotiated it with Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire begins. We are ready and we will accept it.”
The apparent diplomatic disconnect threatens to undermine hopes of a breakthrough at a moment when relations between Washington and Kyiv have become increasingly strained.
Russia’s state nuclear and energy corporation, Rosatom, meanwhile said it expected a ceasefire agreement to be reached soon, allowing damaged equipment at the Zaporizhzhia thermal power station to be repaired.
The announcement follows an extraordinary escalation in Mr Trump’s war of words with the Ukrainian leader. Just hours earlier, the US President had called for Ukraine to “get a new President”, intensifying pressure on Kyiv over its conduct of the war.
Mr Zelensky has pushed back by proposing a 60-day total ceasefire that would allow Ukraine to organise elections.
“Please tell [Vladimir] Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections,” he told ABC News.
The diplomatic turmoil comes amid a separate controversy over a reported Washington deal with Moscow to release millions of tonnes of Russian diesel onto the global market.
Mr Trump has blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure for worsening fuel shortages, arguing that strikes on refineries threaten supplies far beyond the battlefield.
“Zelensky could have settled this war many times, many, many times. And he chooses not to,” he said.
“We said, you can do whatever you want to Russia. Don’t hit the refineries, because that’s a world problem that’s caused.”
He accused the Ukrainian president of creating difficulties for American farmers and ranchers by targeting Russian fuel production.
“So he’d better damn well stop,” Mr Trump added.
Kyiv has maintained that any halt to attacks must be matched by credible Russian commitments, rather than unilateral Ukrainian restraint.
“It is feasible to stop strikes on energy today, but Putin does not want to do this,” Mr Zelensky said on Sunday, insisting that any arrangement must be underpinned by “real guarantees”.
He added that the “real cause of the war in Europe is Russia and Russia alone”.
The central question now is whether Mr Trump’s declaration reflects a binding understanding with the Kremlin or an agreement that still requires clarification and acceptance by the parties expected to observe it.
Until Moscow and Kyiv confirm the terms, the supposed ceasefire risks becoming another flashpoint in an increasingly bitter diplomatic struggle — with energy infrastructure, global fuel supplies and the future of Ukraine hanging in the balance.
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