ENERGY CEASEFIRE IN TATTERS AS RUSSIA STRIKES POWER PLANTS IN UKRAINE

Russian strikes hit multiple Ukrainian power plants on Sunday, hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that both sides had agreed to stop hitting each other’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The strikes directly contradicted Trump’s announcement and underscored the fragility of any ceasefire that has not been formally agreed by both warring parties.

THE STRIKES

Zelensky, in a post on social media, said a drone had hit a Kyiv power plant, leading to power outages in the capital.

Shortly later, he said there had been a strike on the CHP-5 power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv, while adding that “Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian ‘shaheds’ all day,” referring to a type of drone .

ADVERTISEMENT

A local official who spoke with ABC News said the thermal power plant in Kharkiv was hit twice and was on fire. The attack on the Kharkiv plant came at around 8pm local time.

ZELENSKY’S STATEMENT

Speaking after the strikes, Zelensky said: “Today, there was a statement from the President of the United States that an energy ceasefire has been secured. This is good news for everyone, and it is important that it become reality” .“Unfortunately, Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian ‘shaheds’ all day today. There have been glide bomb strikes and strikes on our energy infrastructure too. A power plant in Kharkiv was attacked this evening”.

Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 200 strikes on Ukraine’s electricity generation and transmission facilities this week alone, as well as 17 strikes on gas and oil facilities. The attacks killed more than 150 people and injured over 700 during that period, he added.

TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT

Trump had announced Sunday morning in Washington that “effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine” .“Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote on his Truth Social network without any further details .

Zelensky expressed surprise at the announcement and said he was seeking further details. Russia has yet to confirm its agreement.

THE CONTEXT: A DIESEL DEAL AND ESCALATING TENSIONS

The announcement came two days after Trump announced a temporary easing of US sanctions on Russian diesel, prompting outrage by Ukraine and its European allies, who argued it only emboldened Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

Trump, whose war against Iran has led to global oil shortages, has blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries for sending diesel prices soaring, creating major risks for his party in US elections next month.

The row between Trump and Zelensky escalated on Saturday when Trump said it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president” who would finally settle the war.

Zelensky pushed back on the suggestion in an interview on Sunday. “First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” he told ABC News.

He said that fuel prices were rising because of the war in the Middle East and the blocking of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. “Everybody understands it,” he said.

EUROPEAN REACTION

European leaders continued to back Zelensky.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she “fully supported the call of President Zelensky for a ceasefire that would protect global food supplies and energy infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris supports a “real energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine.

“Currently, Russia continues to refuse that, by lately intensifying further its strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure,” Macron said. “France will continue to stay by the side of Ukraine and President Zelensky”.

VOICES FROM KYIV

In Kyiv, several residents expressed concern about Trump’s call for Zelensky to be replaced.

“I believe our president is the best, and Americans should think about their own president,” said 40-year-old Olesia Goncharuk. “We Ukrainians decide our own fate and our own freedom, and we are free people”.

WHAT IT MEANS

The strikes hours after Trump’s announcement exposed the gap between the US president’s claims and the reality on the ground.

A ceasefire that one side has not agreed to and that the other side violates within hours is not a ceasefire.

The episode also highlights the risks of Trump’s approach to the war: making announcements without first securing agreement from both parties, then facing the diplomatic fallout when they are contradicted.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Russia has not commented on Trump’s ceasefire claim, and the strikes continue.