The European Union has given a cautious welcome to the prospect of an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, as winter approaches and renewed Russian strikes put fresh pressure on the country’s power network.
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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas struck a cautious note on Monday, saying Brussels wanted to see clear evidence that Moscow intended to respect the proposed halt to attacks on energy infrastructure announced by US President Donald Trump.
“We welcome the energy ceasefire when it holds,” Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it.”
Those doubts deepened through the day as Ukraine said Russia had continued to strike energy sites, while the Kremlin stopped short of confirming that any ceasefire had been agreed.
“It is increasingly evident that Russia is unwilling to accept an energy ceasefire proposed by the United States,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The dispute comes amid wider unease among Ukraine’s European allies after Trump announced at the weekend a temporary easing of US sanctions on Russian diesel – a move Kyiv and several European governments fear could reduce pressure on President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
Trump defended the diesel deal on Monday despite criticism from US lawmakers in both parties. He also insisted Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire, telling reporters: “They agreed because I said they agreed.”
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Ceasefire meets continued strikes
Trump sowed confusion on Sunday when he announced an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine without setting out its terms or explaining how it would be enforced.
Kyiv said it was ready to stop targeting Russian energy facilities if Moscow did the same, and Zelensky said Ukraine refrained from striking Russian refineries overnight.
But Russia continued attacking Ukraine’s power infrastructure. Zelensky said at least six energy targets were hit on Monday, including a gas facility and a petrol station, after earlier strikes on power plants in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Russia said contacts were continuing over a possible energy ceasefire, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Kyiv’s call for a broader pause.
“We do not want a ceasefire,” he said. “We want long-term peace and are prepared to do everything possible to achieve it.”
With colder weather approaching, attacks on the electricity network remain a central concern after successive winters in which Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Kallas warned that any agreement would also need to go beyond oil refineries, arguing that a narrowly defined truce would favour Moscow because Russia has far greater refining capacity.
“If we want to end this war, the only way we can do this is putting more pressure on Russia,” she said, urging Washington to increase rather than ease sanctions.
EU foreign ministers on Monday added 1,569 names to the bloc’s sanctions list, covering individuals and businesses – the largest single package of listings since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
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Moscow offers election-day pause
The limits of Russia’s willingness to halt military operations were underlined when the Kremlin rejected Zelensky’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that would allow Ukraine to organise and campaign for a presidential election.
Ukraine has not held a presidential vote since the full-scale invasion began, with elections suspended under martial law.
Peskov said Putin would instead be prepared to order Russian forces not to strike Ukraine on election day itself.
“If they truly want to hold elections in Kyiv, then the president of Russia, the commander-in-chief, will be ready to give an order not to launch strikes on Ukraine on election day, specifically on election day,” he said.
The offer fell well short of Kyiv’s call for the security conditions needed to organise voting while millions of Ukrainians remain displaced at home and abroad.
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The tougher message was also on display at the Warsaw Security Forum, where NATO’s top military commander warned that any attack on an alliance member would be made “utterly futile”.
US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the alliance was ready to “block, blunt and break” an assault.
“If someone is foolish enough to attack us, we will fight,” he said. “We will stop the attack and deny them the ability to achieve their objectives.”
European governments are also focused on cyberattacks, sabotage and disinformation attributed to Russia.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius told the forum that Ukraine’s allies should encourage Kyiv to strike more Russian data centres as part of efforts to counter Moscow’s hybrid warfare capabilities.
Three attacks have been reported against data centres belonging to Yandex, Russia’s biggest technology company. Zelensky said Russian bot activity appeared to have declined following the attacks, although their impact has not been independently verified.
For the EU, the immediate test remains whether Trump’s proposed energy ceasefire translates into an actual pause in attacks as another winter approaches.
(with newswires)