Ukraine will “respond” if Russia does not respect the energy truce this winter, says Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukraine will “respond” if Russia does not respect an energy truce this winter, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday after the unexpected announcement by the American president of a “ceasefire” on energy infrastructure between kyiv and Moscow.

“This winter, if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire, we will respond,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a videoconference speech to a security forum in Warsaw.

“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,” he added. He also stressed that during the night from Sunday to Monday, Ukraine had not struck any energy site in Russia, unlike Moscow which targeted, he denounced, a gas site and “an ordinary gas station”.

“There have been Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” he continued, specifying that, as of Monday morning, “Russian jet drones” continue “to fly over the skies of kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.”

Since this summer, Russia has significantly intensified its attacks against Ukraine, targeting the capital in particular by launching swarms of jet drones, which are more difficult to intercept than conventional drones.

The Ukrainian president also called on the United States to maintain “pressure” on Russia, and not to make concessions. “We need real American pressure.”

“We need American pressure on Russia, not sanctions relief, not concessions, but real pressure, so that we can obtain at least what the American president talked about in his message yesterday,” he insisted, in reference to the “energy ceasefire” announced by Donald Trump.

Donald Trump had announced Friday having negotiated the delivery of massive quantities of Russian diesel to American and global markets, lifting sanctions weighing on Moscow to do so.

Following the jump in fuel prices in the United States since the outbreak of war against Iran in February by Donald Trump and Israel, this agreement is seen as a way to partially relieve American consumers just before crucial and difficult legislative elections for the American billionaire.

To everyone's surprise, Donald Trump then announced on Sunday an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine.

“An energy ceasefire and other measures to reduce escalation and ensure security are really needed here, in reality, not just on Truth Social,” Donald Trump’s network, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.