Zelenskyy: Announcement of energy truce came as surprise to me
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the start of an "energy truce" came as a surprise to the Ukrainian side. However, Kyiv is prepared to support it, provided that the Russian Federation adheres to the agreements.
The head of state made these remarks in a comment to Axios, according to Censor.NET
Zelensky’s reaction
"The announcement of a ceasefire came as a surprise to me. But if the Russians agree to an energy-related ceasefire, Ukraine will agree. If President Trump has agreed this with Putin — please tell us when the ceasefire begins — we are ready and we will accept it," said the president.
What led up to it
On the previous Sunday, 11 October, US President Donald Trump announced the start of an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia.
Background
- On 9 October, US President Donald Trump stated that he had spoken with the Russian dictator Putin, with whom he had agreed on the supply of diesel fuel from Russia to markets in the US and around the world.
- According to him, Russia will "immediately" supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global markets, a further 500,000 tonnes during November, and another million tonnes "immediately afterwards".
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The US Department of the Treasury has announced that, on Trump’s instructions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is immediately issuing a temporary general licence to permit the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.
- In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s authorisation to sell petroleum products as an "investment in the war" and called on the US to hold firm talks with Moscow and impose sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act.
- It should be recalled that, against the backdrop of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, the Russian authorities have extended the ban on diesel fuel exports on several occasions, at least until the end of October.
- The US President has publicly stated that Ukraine must cease its attacks on Russia’s energy sector, as this, he claims, is leading to a shortage of diesel fuel. According to him, the shortage has arisen precisely because of the war in Ukraine, and not because of the US war against Iran.
- Similar statements have been made by other American politicians. For instance, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy sector are leading to an energy crisis. He cited the war with Iran as the second cause of the crisis.
