Zelensky offers limited energy truce - demands counter-commitment from Russia

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is ready for a limited ceasefire in attacks on energy facilities as long as Russia promises not to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure in return. "We are ready for any kind of energy ceasefire," Zelensky said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN general debate in New York. The proposal should be transmitted from the USA to the Russian side.

At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that he did not know Moscow's position on such an agreement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously rejected the proposal, citing the goal of a comprehensive peace settlement. Since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the USA has been trying to put an end to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022. Previous talks between representatives of the USA, Russia and Ukraine failed to produce a breakthrough.

Zelenskyj then described a nearly hour-long meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as “positive and productive.” Both sides wanted the “senseless Russian war” to end before winter. The topic of discussion was also de-escalation measures that could pave the way for diplomatic negotiations.

No commitment to Patriot anti-aircraft missiles

At the same time, Zelensky made it clear that Trump had not asked him to stop Ukrainian attacks on the Russian oil industry. The US President had previously linked rising diesel prices in the United States to Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

According to Zelensky, there was no concrete commitment for further US deliveries of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. Ukraine has raised the issue. "The good thing about it is that no one said no," said Zelensky, but emphasized that Washington had not yet given a binding answer. After weeks of bottlenecks, the Ukrainian air defense system is now lacking interceptor missiles, meaning that Russian ballistic missiles can only rarely be intercepted.

Russian air strikes on warehouses, energy facilities and large steel and industrial plants are putting further pressure on the Ukrainian economy. At the same time, Zelensky warned of a new major Russian attack. There is intelligence information that Russia is preparing a “new massive attack” on Ukraine, he wrote on Telegram. Kyiv is therefore in close contact with its allies to secure additional anti-aircraft systems.