Ukraine says it’s open to halting attacks on Russian energy

Ukraine is willing to halt attacks on Russian energy targets if Russia agrees to a deal to do the same, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

But “Ukraine is not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement,” Zelenskyy said in an X post.

Zelenskyy’s conditional statement undercut a claim about an hour earlier by President Donald Trump, who in a Truth Social post said: “Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!”

Trump also claimed, “The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Zelenskyy’s post.

Trump on Sunday had urged Zelenskyy to “stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia.”

“Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump said during his visit to Ireland.

Moscow welcomed Trump’s comment.

But Ukraine has insisted that energy sites are legitimate military targets as it continues resisting Russian forces that invaded the country more than four years ago.

Ukraine most recently struck two Russian oil refineries, Zelenskyy announced last week as he accused Moscow of using its oil revenues “to finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians.”

In his post on Monday, Zelenskyy said, “If our partners are ready to ensure that Russia genuinely refrains from striking our electricity system, other energy facilities, critical infrastructure, and food supply routes, then, of course, we are ready to ensure a corresponding halt to our strikes.”

“So that it is reliable, long-term, has a real impact on people’s lives, and does not fall apart after the Russians hold their ‘elections’ and get an easing of pressure on gasoline and diesel precisely for that period,” Zelenskyy wrote.

“The war must be brought to an end. And a de-escalatory step regarding critical infrastructure could be the first step toward peace,” he said. “We expect specifics from our partners.”

Meanwhile, global energy prices continue to rapidly rise. The average U.S. price of diesel, an important energy source for industrial and other heavy-duty machinery, hit $6 per gallon for the first time Friday.

The sharp price hikes have coincided with an escalation in the Iran war, including a recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s critical East-West oil pipeline.

The pipeline was used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil shipping route that continues to experience highly throttled commercial traffic since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.