35 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleTinshui Yeung
Getty ImagesDonald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an “energy ceasefire” in the war between the two countries.
The US president provided few details, saying only that it was “effective immediately”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially said the announcement was “news” to him, before commenting that Kyiv supported the ceasefire while noting it was “important that Russia support it as well”. Moscow has yet to comment.
Trump has been urging Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil infrastructure – which Kyiv says are vital to curtailing revenue for Moscow’s war machine – so Russia can fulfil a recently struck deal to release diesel to the US and the global market.
Zelensky expressed surprise about the announcement to news site Axios, before writing on social media that his officials “look forward to clear details of America’s dialogue with Russia”.
“Ukraine is ready not to strike at Russian energy and we count on Russia’s similar readiness and on the agreement of the president of the United States of America on this,” he said.
The BBC has asked the White House for further details.
For months, Ukraine and Russia have been exchanging strikes on energy infrastructure.
Moscow said the installations it hits were legitimate targets because they supported Ukraine’s military operation, while Zelensky has characterised Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory as part of an effort to “reduce Russia’s ability to finance the war”.
The attacks have disrupted energy supplies on both sides.
The deal announced with Russia earlier this week, temporarily undoing sanctions on Russian imports, is the latest effort by Trump to lower fuel prices in the US ahead of the midterm elections, having spent months grappling with the political consequences of the Iran war.
The US-Israeli war with Iran has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s oil products usually flow – and pushed up global fuel prices, particularly those for diesel.
That conflict has soured Trump’s standing with the American public, who have been stung by the higher pump prices and knock-on effects that led to across-the-board inflation.
The deal was condemned by European allies of both the US and Ukraine.
Zelensky warned the deal would provide Moscow with money to continue its war against his country, calling it a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump, in turn, accused Zelensky of wanting to “make problems for the world” by continuing to authorise attacks on Russian refineries, while urging Ukraine to hold elections for a new leader.
Zelensky responded by pledging to hold elections – despite them being suspended by the Ukrainian constitution during wartime – if Russia agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire.
The Ukrainian president previously resisted calls from the US for fresh elections, pointing to complications with holding a vote in parts of the country that are active war zones or under Russian occupation.
Trump, however, has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian leader of using the war to stay in power.
