Zelensky ties Ukrainian strikes halt to partner guarantee of Russian intent
Russia fired about 200 drones at Ukraine overnight Monday, killing one person and injuring seven in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials. The strikes came hours after President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that both sides had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials said the Russian drones struck energy and port facilities, hitting gas stations and warehouses in the capital. Russian attacks also damaged homes and port and transportation infrastructure in southern and western Ukraine.
Ukraine struck back overnight. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region, a drone production facility in Taganrog, and a drone preparation and launch site in the Oryol region.
Trump announced his claimed truce in a Monday post on Truth Social. “Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise! The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” he wrote.
Energy experts, cited by The New York Times, disputed Trump’s claim. While acknowledging the Russia-Ukraine war played some role, they said the war in Iran is a more important driver of fuel costs.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Russia considered halting the strikes “a very good idea” but cautioned that doing so would not have much influence on fuel markets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Trump’s proposal “strong” but said Ukraine would stop its attacks only if its American partners could ensure Russia was genuinely ready to end the war. “Peace is needed. Energy, food routes, critical infrastructure — all of this must be part of the discussion on ending the strikes. We need a strong and fair solution, and not just for the ‘elections,’ but for good. We expect specifics from our partners,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
Peskov went further in tying market relief to broader concessions. He said fuel markets would not ease without ensuring the safety of Russian fuel tankers and lifting sanctions against Russia. “Only then will the world, the global markets, be saturated, and prices will go down,” Peskov said, according to the Times.