Zelensky says ceasefire was news to him as Russia strikes energy sites
President Donald Trump announced a deal on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply the United States with hundreds of millions of tons of Russian diesel fuel, then two days later claimed on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” halting strikes on energy infrastructure. The twin announcements drew bipartisan criticism in Congress and skepticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he had no advance notice of the ceasefire. Russian forces struck Ukrainian power plants on Sunday night, and diesel prices remained above $6 a gallon.
With midterm elections weeks away and American voters already casting ballots in some battleground states, Trump has turned to international diplomacy as a way of addressing domestic fuel prices that polls show have weighed on his approval ratings. High energy costs, particularly for diesel used in midwestern agricultural states, have emerged as a growing source of voter frustration. Polls suggest voters view the Iran War as the leading cause for their woes, and overall support for Trump — and approval of his handling of the war and the US economy in particular — has dropped precipitously.
Trump heralded his Russian diesel arrangement in a Truth Social post as bringing “lower prices for Americans.” He simultaneously ordered the Treasury Department to suspend US restrictions that had prevented Russian diesel from being sold on global markets. The suspension opened a channel for Russian fuel imports four years after Congress in 2022 banned Russian energy purchases to prevent American dollars from financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Bipartisan pushback to the diesel deal materialized within days. Four Republican senators joined Democrats in a letter released Sunday calling on Trump to “immediately reverse course.” “Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” the senators wrote. “President Trump’s decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the US runs directly counter to that law.”
Two days after the diesel announcement, Trump returned to Truth Social to tout a new energy ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. BBC News reported that Trump’s celebration of the “energy truce” appeared to follow a familiar pattern of announcing an agreement before it had been sealed and delivered, pointing to his past record of prematurely announcing Middle East ceasefires and sweeping peace agreements.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky contradicted that account. Zelensky said he had received no advance notice of the agreement, though he stated Ukraine would abide by it. Russia, for its part, did not publicly confirm the arrangement. On Sunday night, Russian forces launched a new wave of attacks on Ukrainian power plants, and Zelensky reported that six Ukrainian energy sites had been struck since Trump’s announcement.
“It’s clear that Putin does not read Truth Social,” Zelensky said on Monday. He added: “This winter, if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire, we will respond.”
Trump and Zelensky have had a turbulent relationship throughout Trump’s second term, with the American leader alternating between blaming Russia and Ukraine for the conflict he had previously said he could easily end upon returning to the White House. In recent days, Zelensky has been the primary target of Trump’s frustration, as Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have contributed to worldwide energy shortages.
On Saturday, Trump told reporters at the White House that it was time for Ukraine to get a new president. The Financial Times and CNN have reported that the United States has threatened to cut off arms sales and intelligence sharing with Ukraine if Zelensky does not halt attacks on Russian refineries. “Zelensky better damn well stop,” Trump said.
Terry Haines, founder of independent think-tank Pangaea Policy, told the BBC: “I think that the president has a decade long public record of lashing out of people who aren’t doing what he wants, when and how he wants to do it.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has become a vocal critic of Trump on the international stage, offered “strong support” for the energy ceasefire but condemned the diesel deal as undermining peace and stability in Europe and helping Russia to finance its “illegal, unjustifiable war against Ukraine.”
Diesel prices in the United States have shown little movement in response to Trump’s announcements. Prices remain below their record highs but still well above $6 a gallon, offering the president limited political benefit from the diplomatic moves in the near term.
New violence in the Middle East threatened to further strain global energy markets over the same weekend. A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia struck airports and energy infrastructure, killing at least 13 people. Michael Ratney, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told the BBC: “This is the Houthis sending a message that it’s not just military targets, it’s not just energy infrastructure, they’re going to strike at civilian airports that could kill a lot of people.”
Ratney said the US-Iran war was a conflict none of the Arab nations in the region wanted, and the Houthi offensive was a foreseeable result. With the United States and Iran in an extended standoff, Ratney said, further hostilities could send oil prices higher. “I do think it gets uglier before it really deescalates,” Ratney said.
In recent weeks, Trump has pointed to Ukraine, not the Middle East, as the primary source of global energy pressures, citing increased oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz that he said Iran’s military threat had effectively shut.