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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday warned that Russia would face retaliation if it targets Ukraine’s energy system this winter.
“Russia knows that if they strike—and they are preparing to strike our energy system this winter—Russia will receive the same in return,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“If they cause blackouts for us, we will try to respond in fitting fashion,” he added.
Zelenskyy said negotiations remain Ukraine’s preferred path to ending the war.
He called for progress toward a possible trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States, as well as an energy truce, the unblocking of the Black Sea and continued exchanges of prisoners and civilians, including children held in Russia.
Zelenskyy warned that prolonging the war poses challenges to Russia and the global economy, particularly for food and energy security.
He said disruptions to Black Sea grain exports could worsen shortages in vulnerable countries.
“This will be like Hormuz, only agricultural. And that is a serious problem,” Zelenskyy said. “It shouldn’t be up to Ukraine alone to solve this. Because it is a challenge for many.”
Zelenskyy also called on Congress to pass sanctions legislation backed by late Sen. Lindsey Graham and urged stronger action by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Sanctions need to be imposed now,” he said.
“This is a tool the United States has to deprive Russia of its ability to finance the war against Ukraine every day,” he added.
“And honestly, sometimes I don’t understand why decisions can’t be made quickly.”
Russia remains open to negotiations with Ukraine and expects to hold a trilateral meeting with the United States in the foreseeable future, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
In an interview with Izvestia, Peskov said it was difficult to predict the effectiveness of a possible meeting amid what he described as the daily deterioration of the situation for Kyiv.
“We remain open to negotiations,” he said.
“We hope that, as was said with the American negotiators, in the foreseeable future we will be able to gather again as a group of three and continue the dialogue,” Peskov added.
Peskov said Moscow’s conditions are well known, as are what it calls the causes of the “special military operation,” a term Moscow uses for the war in Ukraine, which it says must be addressed.
He said no final agreements had been reached on a possible meeting in China between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.
Peskov also addressed potential attempts by Zelenskyy to influence Trump ahead of such a meeting, saying the U.S. president has his own view of his relationship with Putin that is unlikely to be changed by anyone.
On Wednesday, Trump said Putin wants to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine and suggested a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy could take place.
Last week, U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv for talks with the leadership of both countries.
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