Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Monday of violating an “energy ceasefire” announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, urging Washington to ensure Moscow abides by the agreement as the Kremlin said contacts over a possible truce were ongoing.
Russia attacked gas production facilities belonging to Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz in the Kharkiv region overnight, causing a fire and damaging critical equipment, the company said Monday.
Ukrainian drone attacks, meanwhile, appeared to spare Russian oil refineries overnight after Trump made the surprise announcement that the ceasefire had taken immediate effect.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that contacts over a possible energy ceasefire were continuing. He declined to say whether it would apply only to oil refineries, saying further information would be released in due course.
“There were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelensky told a security conference in Warsaw via video link.
Zelensky said he had learned about the agreement through the media and was awaiting details of the terms discussed by Washington and Moscow.
“This energy ceasefire, it can work, and it can become a major step toward ending the war if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russians respect it,” he said.
The Kremlin has not formally confirmed that it agreed to a ceasefire. Sources close to the Russian government told Bloomberg that Moscow remained skeptical that Washington could deliver a binding agreement on terms favorable to Russia.
Naftogaz acting CEO Sergii Fedorenko said employees were working to repair the damage from the overnight attack.
“Our employees are doing everything possible to repair the damage as quickly as possible and prevent risks to the stable operation of the energy system,” he said on Telegram.
Zelensky also said in his nightly video address Sunday that Russian forces had struck a combined heat and power plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, that evening. A Ukrainian official said the attack took place after Trump’s ceasefire announcement.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have received all the appropriate orders,” Zelensky said in the address.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted 151 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions and annexed Crimea overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 37 drones were destroyed as they approached the capital between Sunday evening and Monday morning.
Local authorities and independent media reported no new strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Ukraine has repeatedly targeted in recent months.
Russian attacks on other targets continued Monday. The Defense Ministry said its forces struck a cargo vessel carrying military supplies near the Ukrainian port of Odesa. Local officials said Russian shelling and air attacks injured at least 12 people in Kharkiv that morning.
In Russia’s southern Rostov region, firefighters continued battling a blaze at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery following a drone attack Saturday, the exiled news outlet Astra reported.
Authorities in the southwestern Belgorod region said one civilian was killed and three others were injured Sunday evening.
Separately, Peskov rejected Zelensky’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to hold presidential elections, saying Moscow wanted an overall peace deal instead.
“Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections,” Zelensky told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Peskov said Putin and other Russian officials had repeatedly stated that they did not want a temporary ceasefire and were prepared to work toward long-term peace.
Russia has long pressed Ukraine to hold elections and says that its failure to do so makes Zelensky an illegitimate leader. Elections in wartime are prohibited by Ukrainian law.
Reuters contributed reporting.
