Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced that an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has come into effect with immediate effect, marking a key development in the ongoing war between the two countries. According to Trump, both nations have agreed not to carry out attacks on each other’s critical energy infrastructure, including power stations, oil companies, and gas pipelines. He urged both sides not to violate the agreement under any circumstances, and made the announcement through his social media platform, Truth Social.
Responding to the announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had discussed the energy ceasefire proposed by Trump and fully supports the agreement, but stressed that Russia must also remain committed to it. He said that if Russia completely halts its attacks on Ukraine’s power and energy facilities, Ukraine is also prepared to stop its strikes on oil refineries inside Russia. In a post on X, Zelensky said Ukraine is awaiting further details from the United States on the matter.
The Russian government has not yet issued any official response to Trump’s announcement. Moscow’s stance will be crucial to whether the ceasefire holds, given that both sides have repeatedly targeted each other’s energy facilities during the course of the war.
Separately, Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel has drawn strong opposition within the United States. Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of Trump’s own party, has begun efforts to block the move and announced that he will introduce a special bill against it in Congress, with fellow Republican Don Bacon also backing the proposal. However, experts say the bill may not get enough time to be passed, as the current House of Representatives’ term is set to end soon.