Russia struck six Ukrainian energy facilities hours after US President Donald Trump announced the two countries had agreed to an energy ceasefire, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Despite Trump stating on Sunday the truce would be “effective immediately”, the Ukrainian president said Russia had hit “our gas stations, energy infrastructure, and other facilities”.
There were blackouts in the city of Izyum after a Russian strike destroyed power grids, Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform said, while energy and railway infrastructure in western Ukraine was also targeted overnight.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine does not deserve the “respite” a ceasefire would bring.
Zelensky said 33 people had been injured in the strikes on energy facilities across the country.
He told Fox News: “We did not attack, while Russia attacked our gas stations, energy infrastructure, and other facilities.”
“I think it was Putin’s answer to President Trump,” he added.
Global conflicts have pushed fuel prices higher ahead of the US midterm elections and on Friday Trump announced a plan to import Russian diesel into the US on Friday.
On Monday, Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo reported “new power cuts” in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia due to damage caused to energy equipment by Russian attacks.
Electricity rationing has been introduced in parts of Ukraine to avoid overloading damaged equipment, Ukrenergo said.
Zelensky said on X the strikes were proof Russia was “unwilling to accept an energy ceasefire”.
On Monday evening, Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram that a drone hit a 25-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district.
Several cars in the building’s courtyard were also on fire, he said, with one person dead and 11 injured.
When Trump first announced the ceasefire on Sunday, Zelensky said it was “news to him” that a truce was in effect, but he backed the proposed ceasefire as a “major step toward ending the war, if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russians respect the energy ceasefire”.
Asked about the ceasefire on Monday, Trump said they agreed “because I said you agree”, adding that the war “has to get settled”.
“That war is a disaster if you see the numbers,” he said.
For months, Ukraine and Russia have been exchanging strikes on energy infrastructure, disrupting energy supplies on both sides.
Moscow has said the installations it hits are legitimate targets as they support Ukraine’s military operation, while Zelensky has characterised Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory as part of an effort to “reduce Russia’s ability to finance the war”.
Analysis by BBC Verify on both Ukrainian and Russian strikes during the war have found both sides have increased their attacks in the lead up to the next winter.
In 2026, BBC Verify has recorded 273 strikes on Russian-controlled oil and gas facilities, more than double the 124 recorded over the same period in 2025.
Separately, analysis of data aggregated by global conflict monitor, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (Acled), recorded 2.4 times as many reported Russian attacks affecting Ukraine’s energy network so far this year.
Trump has been urging Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, so Russia can fulfil the recently struck deal to release diesel to the US and the global market.
The deal temporarily undoes US sanctions on energy imports, which Zelensky described as a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain “strongly supports President Trump’s call today for a sustained energy ceasefire to start now”, while France, Canada and the EU also expressed support.
However, there has been a mixed response among European officials.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would welcome an energy ceasefire “when it holds”. Kallas said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday: “We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it.”
Meanwhile, Estonia’s foreign minister said the ceasefire was “not working”.
(BBC News)