Ukraine is ready to halt attacks on energy infrastructure if Russia does the same, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for both sides to suspend such strikes.
Zelensky said an agreement to stop attacks on energy and other critical infrastructure could help ease tensions and serve as a first step towards ending the war.
He said Kyiv had asked its international partners to help broker an understanding with Russia to protect critical infrastructure from further destruction.
“If our partners are ready to ensure that Russia genuinely refrains from striking our electricity system, other energy facilities, critical infrastructure, and food supply routes, then, of course, we are ready to ensure a corresponding halt to our strikes,” Zelensky said on X.
He described a mutual halt to attacks on critical infrastructure as a possible first step towards de-escalation and ultimately ending the conflict.
Trump had earlier said on Truth Social that both countries had agreed not to target energy facilities, claiming that Ukraine had agreed to refrain from striking Russian energy targets and Russia had agreed to do the same.
The Kremlin welcomed Trump’s appeal: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any call for Kyiv to stop attacks on civilian economic infrastructure was “welcomed”.
Peskov also urged countries with influence over Ukraine to encourage greater flexibility, saying this could help efforts to resolve the conflict.
However, hostilities have continued despite calls for restraint, with both Russia and Ukraine reporting fresh attacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had targeted railway infrastructure in western Ukraine and logistics facilities supplying Ukrainian troops.
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Zelensky, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces had attacked a naval base in Novorossiysk in Russia’s southern Krasnodar Territory, hitting an oil loading terminal, military facilities and warships equipped with Kalibr missiles. The ongoing conflict has also continued to put pressure on the Russian economy.
The Russian government recently imposed a temporary ban on exports of gasoline, diesel, marine fuel and gas oil as part of efforts to stabilize the domestic fuel market.
