Ammon News - US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement of an energy ​ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday that he said was "effective immediately", but Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was still waiting to see details of the deal.

There was no ‌word from Moscow on the ceasefire announcement, which followed days of intense pressure from Trump for Ukraine to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries. He blames those strikes for a rise in diesel prices that is hurting his Republican Party ahead of US midterm elections next month.

In a dramatic deterioration in relations, Trump on Saturday warned Zelenskiy that he had "better damn well stop" attacking Russian refineries, and urged Ukrainians to replace their leader at new elections. Trump said Zelenskiy had missed several opportunities to strike a ​deal with Moscow.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump unexpectedly announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an energy ceasefire, but did not elaborate further.

"Effective immediately, there is ​an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" Trump wrote.

RISING GLOBAL FUEL PRICES
Trump, whose war in Iran ⁠has been widely blamed for hiking global fuel prices, had previously announced an energy ceasefire in Ukraine in mid-September, although neither side ever confirmed that such an agreement had been reached.

A person familiar with the situation said ​the US had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine as well as weapons procurement under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) system, as it pressed Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian energy sites. The US threats were ​earlier reported by the Financial Times.

The person added that Zelenskiy was speaking to European leaders about de-escalating the situation with Trump.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zelenskiy said he had discussed Trump's ceasefire announcement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

"Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side," he said on Telegram.

Speaking in his nightly video address, ​Zelenskiy said Russian forces were still launching air attacks on energy infrastructure, including a strike on a joint heating and power plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. A Ukrainian official confirmed the attack had taken place after ​Trump's announcement of the ceasefire.

Hours earlier, Zelenskiy had pushed back against US pressure for a unilateral end to Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, repeating his long-standing position that he was willing to do so only if President Vladimir Putin suspended ‌Russian strikes on ⁠Ukrainian power infrastructure.


Reuters