Ukraine and Russia traded fresh strikes on their respective energy infrastructure overnight, underscoring the gap between the high-level talk of an energy ceasefire in the ongoing war and the reality on the ground.
Ukraine struck two Russian oil refineries, while Russia launched a barrage of missiles at southern Ukraine, hitting several targets, including an oil and gas facility that officials say is now so badly damaged it cannot be restored.
The strikes came shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York
Zelenskyy told reporters after the meeting that the two met for 40 minutes and discussed how to end the four-year-old war as well as the potential for a bilateral ceasefire on energy-related targets.
The Ukrainian president said Kyiv was ready for any format of energy truce with Russia but that there had been no discussion of Ukraine unilaterally halting its attacks on Russian refineries.
The two leaders had also spoken by phone on Sunday, and Trump reportedly raised concerns several times about soaring diesel prices. Zelenskyy said afterward that there are "ideas on the table for bringing peace closer, starting with strong de-escalation steps."
But Zelenskyy has also said any agreement must protect Ukraine’s food exports and critical infrastructure, not just energy facilities.
The Kremlin has previously said it is open to a moratorium on attacks against energy infrastructure, but has insisted that Western sanctions must also be lifted.
Last week, Trump said both sides had agreed to an energy ceasefire. But the agreement appeared to exist largely on his social media feed, because strikes continued.
