Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Oct. 12, U.S. President Donald Trump once again said that Ukraine and Russia agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure, despite the confusion around the alleged ceasefire.
"They agreed," said Trump after a reporter pointed out that neither Moscow nor Kyiv confirmed they would refrain from strikes on energy sites. "Do you know why? Because I said they agreed. That's why. They agreed because I said they agreed. And that thing has to get settled."
The U.S. president's comments came after he unilaterally announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Oct. 11, causing confusion in Kyiv. According to a senior Ukrainian official, Ukraine had no prior information about an energy ceasefire.
In a short interview after Trump's announcement, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios, "If President Trump negotiated it with (Vladimir) Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire begins. We are ready, and we will accept it."
Russia has nothing to say yet about an energy ceasefire with Ukraine announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Oct. 12.
When asked by a reporter about his response to Russia continuing to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure after his announcement, Trump said there had been violations by both sides, without pointing to any evidence.
Hours after Trump's announcement on Oct. 11, Russia struck Kharkiv’s CHP-5 power plant. In Overnight attacks on Oct. 11-12, at least 10 people were killed and 69 others injured across Ukraine as Russia continued to target residential buildings and energy infrastructure across the country.
Ukraine will halt its strikes against Russian refineries only if Moscow ceases its attacks against the Ukrainian power grid, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 12, signaling that a refinery-only truce makes little sense for a country with a single, badly damaged refinery.
Trump's energy ceasefire announcement followed his lifting of sanctions on Russian oil on Oct. 9, a move that could help Moscow earn a substantial boost in its war funding and blindsided Kyiv. By removing the sanctions, Trump could try to reduce high oil prices caused by his war with Iran ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.
On Oct. 12, the Kyiv Independent learned that the Trump administration threatened to cut intel sharing and weapons shipments to Ukraine if more Russian oil refineries were targeted in attacks.
"We're going to see what happens," said Trump to reporters on Oct. 12 about ending the war. "We'll get it done"