Russia and Ukraine agree not to attack energy infrastructures, according to Trump

MoscowDonald Trump takes the reins of the mediation between Russia and Ukraine. The President of the United States has surprised by announcing that both countries have agreed to stop mutual attacks on “energy targets”. In a post on Truth Social, he states that it is a measure intended to curb the rise in global diesel prices which, according to him, is caused by the conflict in Eastern Europe, and not by the one in the Middle East. However, he has not provided further details and Volodymyr Zelensky is “not convinced” that Vladimir Putin is willing to comply with this truce. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is avoiding any comment on the matter.

The Ukrainian president does not speak of a moratorium on bombing energy facilities, but of ending “the destruction of critical infrastructure”. He says he has proposed to his partners, in reference to the Americans, to “secure” an agreement with Moscow to make it possible. “If our partners are willing to guarantee that Russia genuinely refrains from attacking our electrical system, critical infrastructure, and food supply routes, then, of course, we are willing to guarantee a corresponding pause in our attacks,” he wrote on X.

At the same time, Zelensky asks that this “relief of pressure on gasoline and diesel” does not become a temporary measure that the Russian side ignores after the legislative elections next weekend. “The war must be ended, and a step in de-escalation regarding critical infrastructure could be the first step towards peace,” he points out.

Kyiv's move is interpreted as a reaction to Trump's request on Sunday that Ukraine stop attacking Russian refineries. “There are many other targets; let him not attack diesel, it is hurting the world,” he said. Some Ukrainian military observers also do not trust the White House leader's announcement and read it in electoral terms. That is, they believe that the President of the United States is trying to blame Zelensky for the global fuel crisis in the eyes of American voters, and is trying to minimize the impact his attack on Iran has had.

The Kremlin remains silent

In the last few hours, the Ukrainian army has not struck Russian oil facilities, but the campaign against export ports, depots, and refineries has caused gasoline shortages in many regions of the country in recent weeks, including the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This Monday at noon, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the fact that Trump had demanded Zelensky stop attacks against Russian economic infrastructure. “Any call to the Kyiv regime will be welcome,” he declared. However, when journalists asked him if Russia would reciprocate in kind, he refused to answer.

The Russian army has based a very important part of its military strategy on punishing the Ukrainian energy system. With the arrival of winter, advances on the front are slowing down even further, and Putin is attempting to exploit his ballistic superiority to inflict maximum possible damage on the electrical facilities of Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities. In this way, he aims to test the resilience of the civilian population, who in winter suffer temperatures of up to 20 degrees below zero without heating, and force Zelensky to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict favorable to Russian terms.