Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the extended format meeting at the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Turkmenbasy, Turkmenistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)Russia has been accused of striking Ukraine’s energy facilities hours after Donald Trump declared the war had reached a kind of ceasefire.
The US president claimed the warring countries had “agreed” to an “energy ceasefire” on Sunday afternoon.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed,” he wrote on social media.
“Do not break it!” Trump added. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seemed completely unaware of that deal, telling US publication Axios it was “news to me”.
He later wrote on X: “Ukraine supports the ceasefire and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side.
“For our part, Ukraine always FULLY supports steps towards de-escalation, the protection of lives, and the decisions needed to end the war and guarantee lasting peace.”
Allies – including UK prime minister Andy Burnham and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney – said they supported Trump’s attempts to impose a ceasefire.
But Zelenskyy later said: “The Russians struck a power plant in Kyiv with a ‘shahed’ drone, and many districts experienced power outages,
“Later, there were strikes on energy facilities in the Kharkiv region. And all of this happened AFTER the President of the United States made his statement about an energy ceasefire.”
Trump also announced an energy ceasefire in Ukraine only last month, but neither Russia nor Ukraine ever confirmed they had reached an agreement.
Another was declared in March 2025, only to be breached by Putin as Russia continues trying to run down Ukrainian morale by hitting its power sources.
Ukraine has retaliated by hitting Russian infrastructure too, including striking a data centre on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Trump has been accused of making an “absolutely terrible” decision after undoing years of united western sanctions on Russia.
He announced a diesel deal with Putin on Friday, revealing Russia would supply the US and global markets with millions of tonnes of the fuel.
It comes as the US president grapples with the high cost of living in the States, worsened by his war in Iran which put a squeeze on global oil supplies.
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