Trump Says Russia and Ukraine Agree to 'Energy Ceasefire'

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other's energy sites. These sites include oil refineries, power plants, and other places that produce or carry energy. Trump posted the news on his Truth Social social media account, saying the ceasefire would start right away. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the announcement came as a surprise to him.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine." He said both sides had agreed to the deal and warned them not to break it. Russia did not confirm the ceasefire right away. The announcement raised questions about whether the agreement was truly in place.

Zelenskyy told the news website Axios that the ceasefire was "news for me" just minutes after Trump's post appeared online. He said Ukraine would honor the ceasefire if Russia did the same. He also asked Trump to let Ukraine know exactly when the ceasefire was set to begin, saying his country was ready to accept it. Later, Zelenskyy posted on social media that a drone had struck a power plant in Kyiv, causing power outages in the capital city.

Before Trump's announcement, Zelenskyy had already said Ukraine would stop hitting Russian oil refineries if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian energy sites. This week, Trump and Zelenskyy had a disagreement over Ukraine's strikes on Russian fuel facilities. Trump said those strikes helped cause a worldwide shortage of diesel fuel, which is used to power trucks, ships, and farm equipment. Zelenskyy and others pushed back on that claim.

Trump also said he had made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel fuel from Russia. He hoped this would help lower high fuel prices in the United States before midterm elections next month. However, many critics pointed out that this deal went against the new sanctions Trump had signed just weeks before. Sanctions are rules that punish a country by limiting what it can sell or buy.

Several world leaders spoke out about the situation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she fully supported a ceasefire that protects food and energy supplies. French President Emmanuel Macron said France backed a "real energy ceasefire" but noted that Russia had refused one so far. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Trump-Putin fuel deal went against efforts to bring peace and stability to Europe.

Russia has attacked Ukraine's power plants and electrical lines many times, especially in winter, to make life harder for Ukrainian citizens. In response, Ukraine has launched long-range drone and missile strikes deep inside Russia, hitting major oil refineries. On Sunday, Ukraine struck a data center run by Yandex, a large Russian technology company. It was the third time in four days that Yandex's facilities had been hit.