Russia violates the truce announced by Trump and attacks Ukraine's energy infrastructure

BarcelonaThe president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Sunday “an energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine “of an immediate nature”. That is to say, that both countries would stop attacking, without further delay, each other's energy infrastructures. For the moment, however, there is no ceasefire in place, no matter how immediate it was supposed to be. A few hours after the announcement, Russia attacked a power plant in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, on Sunday night, and a gas production facility and a service station in the Zhytomyr region, in the north of the country, according to Kyiv's report.

“It is evident that Putin does not read social media,” stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this Monday, in a videoconference intervention at the Warsaw Security Forum, referring sarcastically to Trump's truce. The US president announced the ceasefire through a statement on his social network, Truth Social.

The announcement caught Zelensky by surprise, who initially claimed he had no knowledge of the alleged agreement. However, on Sunday night, the Ukrainian president expressed his willingness to respect it, and he reiterated this on Monday: "We are ready to respect an energy ceasefire if Russia is ready to do the same. We agree if they agree," he said.

The Kremlin, however, continues to throw obstacles in the way and has not yet confirmed that it accepts the energy truce. "Contacts are continuing, so as soon as we have something to say about this, we will inform you without fail," declared Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesman, at a press conference this Monday. "We do not want a truce, we want a lasting peace, and we are willing to do everything possible to achieve it – he added –. We are looking for truly effective measures and responsible decisions that pave the way for a peaceful solution." Likewise, he assured that Russia "is grateful" to Washington for the diplomatic efforts to achieve a resolution to the conflict.

For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has clearly shown himself to be against the ceasefire: "I don't think he [Zelensky] deserves a break. I don't think we will fall back into the trap of guarantees and promises," he stated, implying that Kyiv wants a truce to "regain strength" and have time for its European allies to supply it with more weaponry "to continue the war".

Skepticism about the agreement

In light of these statements and following the Russian attacks on Sunday night, French President Emmanuel Macron has shown skepticism regarding Trump's announcement. "The facts show that the Russians have continued to bomb energy infrastructure," he said this Monday, and insisted that any diplomatic progress must be based on facts on the ground, and that at the moment they do not exist.

Trump announced the supposed energy truce after having relaxed sanctions on Russia on Friday to allow the sale of Russian diesel to the United States and international markets. Zelensky denounced at the time that Trump's decision will allow the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to bring in billions of dollars to continue financing the war against Ukraine.

The American president, however, turned a deaf ear to Zelensky's pleas and demanded that his Ukrainian counterpart stop attacking Russian refineries due to the alleged impact these bombings have on the stability of the oil market, and consequently, on the pockets of American consumers. For its part, Ukraine has made it clear that it will continue to attack Russian refineries unless the Kremlin orders a cessation of attacks on the Ukrainian energy system. Shortly after, Trump announced the alleged energy truce.

According to Ukrainian analysts, Trump wants to use Zelensky as a "scapegoat" ahead of the US midterm elections, which will be held on November 3rd. That is to say, he intends to present him as the cause of the global rise in fuel prices, even though the main reason is the US war against Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

Russian experts also consider that the Russian diesel supply agreement announced on Friday by Trump will only benefit Moscow politically and economically, as it is a drop in the ocean of the Americans' needs.