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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine would respect the "energy ceasefire" announced by U.S. President Donald Trump if Russia does the same, but warned Kyiv "will respond" if Moscow does not.
"This winter, if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire, we will respond," Zelenskyy told the Warsaw Security Forum by video link.
"We are ready to respect an energy ceasefire if Russia is ready to do the same. We agree, if they agree," he noted.
Trump announced the ceasefire on Truth Social on Sunday without details, sowing confusion in Kyiv and drawing silence from Moscow, while Ukrainian officials claim Russian strikes on energy facilities continued.
"If Russia wants us to stop our long-range strikes against its oil refineries and oil exports, then Russia must stop its strikes against our energy system and critical infrastructure, and stop killing our people. This is only fair," Zelenskyy said.
He said Ukraine had already shown its commitment.
"Last night, Russian oil refineries were not burning," he said, adding that Russia struck a gas production facility and a gas station overnight. "This is Putin’s answer to Trump: Russian attacks.
Zelenskyy said Russian drones were in Ukraine’s skies as Trump posted his announcement. "Immediately after the post, Russia launched a targeted strike on a power plant in Kharkiv, causing further damage to our energy system," he said.
"It was clear that Putin does not read Truth Social and his Shahed drones follow a different set of instructions. But these posts are actually about something that affects the lives of millions of people, and that makes it very, very important," he said.
"Russia started its campaign of strikes against our power generation and power grid years ago and every winter, including this one, Russians try to make these attacks even more intense," Zelenskyy added.
Kharkiv’s regional prosecutor’s office said Monday that Russian forces attacked an energy facility on the city’s outskirts, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Trump’s post said the truce took effect immediately, adding: "Do not break it!"
"We are waiting for the details of the conversation between the Americans and the Russians, and we are waiting to see what specific steps the Americans are ready to take. This energy ceasefire can work, and it can become a major step toward ending the war. If the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russia respects the energy ceasefire," Zelenskyy said, adding he was “grateful” to America.
"An energy ceasefire and other steps to reduce escalation and guarantee security are truly needed here, in reality, not just on Truth Social. We need to end Russia’s war. We need to guarantee security. We need to stand together, Europe and the United States," he said.
Zelenskyy said he learned of the ceasefire "from the media."
"I thought perhaps their team reached out to the Russians. I think they are in constant contact," he said.
He called presidential elections in Ukraine, which Trump again urged over the weekend, "from a security standpoint, completely impossible."
On Trump's diesel deal with Russia, he said, "I do not think that the volumes that Russia is offering will have an influence on the market. What we’ve heard was 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes a month. Think of that. While the global consumption is 120 million a month, I don’t think that this will have a tangible impact. If somebody thinks otherwise, let them think so. So I believe that there are different rationales behind this decision."
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would welcome the truce "when it holds."
"We welcome the energy ceasefire when it holds. We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it," she said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
"Personally, I would also welcome that the ceasefire would include people not being killed, not only energy," Kallas said, noting refineries are targets "where Ukraine has one and Russia has plenty, so it’s definitely in the benefit of the Russians."
"We are now adopting 1,600 listings because we only see that pressure on Russia would work," she said, noting, "We would call the U.S. to get the sanctions in place so that we could actually finish the war."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the forum: "This is the moment when the entire West, Europe, the United States, should show Russia and Putin that it is ready to pursue a policy of containing Russia by even more decisive means," referring mainly to sanctions.
"If Ukraine fights, it fights for survival," Tusk said, adding, "Russia fights for domination."
He added: "Russia wants to ruin the existing security architecture in Europe to make sure that Russian domination comes back to where it was before 1989. We have no doubt about it."
Tusk said anyone suggesting Ukraine is responsible for the war "gives a valuable gift to the aggressor," after Trump blamed Zelenskyy for stalled peace efforts over the weekend, as doubts grow over the energy ceasefire.
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