Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has challenged US President Donald Trump’s claim that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, telling an international security conference in Warsaw that Russian strikes continued after the American announcement and that Moscow had yet to demonstrate its willingness to observe a ceasefire.
Addressing the Warsaw Security Forum remotely on Monday, 12 October, Zelenskyy said Russian forces had attacked a power station in Kharkiv, as well as gas infrastructure and a petrol station, following Trump’s announcement the previous day.
He said Ukraine was prepared to stop striking Russian oil refineries and other energy targets, but only if Moscow agreed to halt its own attacks.
- Find more news from Poland on our Homepage .
“Our offer is honest and clear – we are ready to respect an energy ceasefire if Russia is ready to do the same,” Zelenskyy said, according to the official account of his Warsaw address published by Ukraine’s presidential office.
The remarks exposed a fundamental uncertainty surrounding the agreement Trump said had already taken effect: neither Kyiv nor Moscow had publicly confirmed accepting a mutual cessation of energy strikes.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was still awaiting details of discussions between Washington and Moscow, including what steps the United States intended to take to secure Russian compliance.
Russian attacks continue after Trump’s announcement
Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate cessation of attacks against each other’s energy infrastructure.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, the American president declared that an energy ceasefire was in effect and that both parties had accepted it.
The announcement contained no detailed terms, monitoring arrangements or explanation of how compliance would be enforced.
According to Associated Press reporting on Trump’s announcement and the subsequent attacks, Zelenskyy said Russian strikes continued within hours, including attacks affecting Ukraine’s electricity and gas supplies.
Speaking to participants in Warsaw, the Ukrainian president described significant disruptions to electricity and water supplies in Kyiv and further damage to the power system around Kharkiv.
He also referred sarcastically to Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently not reading Trump’s Truth Social posts, suggesting that Russian drone operations were continuing irrespective of Washington’s announcement.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had refrained from attacking Russian refineries overnight, while Russian drones had struck a gas-production facility and a petrol station in Ukraine.
Later on Monday, he said Russian forces had targeted at least six energy facilities during the latest wave of attacks.
The continuing strikes were also documented in Reuters reporting from Ukraine, which described attacks on energy infrastructure alongside deadly strikes affecting residential areas.
The reports underline the difference between Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire and an arrangement demonstrably being observed by both sides.
Kremlin stops short of confirming an agreement
Russia did not publicly confirm that it had accepted the ceasefire announced by Trump.
Speaking on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said discussions about a possible energy arrangement were continuing and that further information could follow.
He declined to confirm that Russia had agreed to the immediate reciprocal halt described by the American president.
Peskov also reiterated Moscow’s stated preference for a longer-term settlement rather than a temporary ceasefire.
Ukraine’s position was more conditional. Zelenskyy said his country would observe an energy ceasefire if Russia agreed to the same restrictions.
That would involve Kyiv halting long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries and energy exports in exchange for Moscow stopping attacks on Ukraine’s electricity system and other critical infrastructure.
The distinction matters because Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian oil facilities as part of its campaign to weaken Moscow’s ability to finance and sustain the war.
Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure, disrupting heating, electricity and water supplies, particularly during the colder months.
With another winter approaching, Zelenskyy warned that the consequences of continued attacks could affect millions of civilians.
Warsaw forum brings European security concerns into focus
Zelenskyy’s intervention came during the opening day of the Warsaw Security Forum, a major gathering of European political, military and diplomatic leaders taking place on 12–13 October.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the conference separately, emphasising continued European support for Ukraine and warning against reducing assistance to Kyiv.
“If Ukraine is fighting, it is fighting for survival. Russia is fighting for dominance,” Tusk said, according to the Ukrainian presidency’s published account of the proceedings.
The Polish Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Tusk’s participation in the opening session, which brought together participants to discuss NATO’s strategy, Russia’s war against Ukraine and broader European security.
For Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbour and an important logistical and political supporter of Kyiv, the continuing attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure remain a major security concern.
Zelenskyy thanked Poland and other European partners for assistance with Ukraine’s energy needs and called for further deliveries of air-defence equipment, interceptor missiles and other military supplies.
He also urged the United States and European governments to increase pressure on Russia to make a genuine ceasefire possible.
Can an energy ceasefire still work?
Despite disputing the claim that a functioning agreement already existed, Zelenskyy did not reject the idea of a reciprocal pause in energy attacks.
He suggested that such an arrangement could become an important step towards ending the wider war, provided Washington secured Moscow’s participation and compliance.
European officials expressed similar caution.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that she would welcome a halt to strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities but had seen no evidence that Russia was prepared to observe one.
The diplomatic question is therefore not simply whether an energy ceasefire has been announced, but whether the parties have agreed to its terms and whether the attacks will actually stop.
For now, Trump’s announcement remains unsupported by a publicly confirmed bilateral agreement, while reports from Ukraine indicate that strikes on energy infrastructure have continued.
Zelenskyy’s message from Warsaw was that Kyiv remains willing to accept a reciprocal arrangement, but that a ceasefire cannot be judged by an announcement alone.
