London: Ukraine has signalled it is willing to accept an energy ceasefire with Russia after US President Donald Trump announced the surprise move and claimed both sides of the war would back the plan with immediate effect.
Trump appeared to take Ukrainian leaders by surprise with a declaration on social media that the energy ceasefire would go ahead, amid fierce criticism of his deal to ease trade bans on Russia so it could export diesel fuel to American customers.
But his move was backed within an hour by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the condition that Russian President Vladimir Putin was also willing to stop the duelling attacks on energy assets.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump declared on Sunday in Washington DC (early Monday morning AEST).
“Both parties have agreed. Do not break it! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Ukrainian official told media in Kyiv that they had no information about an energy ceasefire, spreading confusion over the terms of any negotiation and whether Trump had leapt ahead of negotiations to claim an outcome that did not exist.
Zelensky responded to the news soon afterwards by telling US media outlet Axios that he was ready to support a deal to stop the attacks.
“The ceasefire announcement was news for me,” Zelensky told Axios reporter Barack Ravid, who reported the comments on X.
“But if Russians agree to an energy ceasefire Ukraine will agree. If president Trump negotiated it with Putin - please tell us when the ceasefire begins - we are ready and we will accept it”
The news triggered confusion about the terms of any truce when Ukrainian civilians are exposed to a humanitarian crisis over winter if Russia continues its attacks on power stations and energy networks.
Zelensky held a quick succession of phone calls with NATO leaders in the hours after Trump’s statement, drawing public support from French President Emmanuel Macron and others.
“France unreservedly supports the call for a genuine energy truce, to which Ukraine is amenable,” said Macron.
“At this stage, Russia continues to refuse it by intensifying its strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure in recent hours.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she “fully supported” Zelensky’s call for a ceasefire that would protect energy infrastructure as well as global food supplies.
Von der Leyen, who spoke to Zelensky on Sunday, said European Union leaders would meet this week to discuss funding for Ukraine over the year ahead.
“This week, the EU will also provide further funding for drones and missiles,” she said.
Zelensky said he had spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. “We are awaiting details from the American side,” he said in a post on X.
Russia has intensified its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine using ballistic missiles as well as jet-powered drones that are significantly faster than propeller-based drones and evade air defences, heightening concerns in Kyiv about a shortage of interceptor drones and missiles to shield potential targets.
Zelensky has responded with more powerful attacks on Russian supply lines and infrastructure, including oil refineries, contributing to a shortage of fuel in parts of Russia and greater challenges for oil companies exporting diesel to world markets.
In a phone call on September 21, Trump urged Zelensky to stop the attacks on oil refineries because they were driving up the cost of diesel on world markets. While the two leaders met in New York that week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, there was no change to the Ukrainian strategy.
Trump stung the Ukrainian leadership on Friday by announcing the diesel agreement with Russia, triggering criticism that he had handed a significant victory to Putin by allowing Russia to generate more export revenue from oil regardless of years of Western attempts to limit its trade.
Trump aired his frustration on Saturday by saying Ukraine should hold elections to replace Zelensky.
“It’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” he told reporters. He added that he had told the Ukrainian president not to hit refineries. “He better damn well stop,” Trump said.
On Sunday, Zelensky told US broadcaster ABC that he could prepare a plan for a new presidential election if the US president could arrange a two-month ceasefire with Putin.
“We want peace, we are ready for [a] ceasefire, we are ready to begin from any kind of steps of de-escalation,” he said in the television interview aired in the US on Sunday morning.
Zelensky said the terms of a ceasefire should be an end to Russian attacks on civilians in return for a Ukrainian commitment to end strikes on Russia, although he did not specify whether this would cover all attacks.