Ukraine Accuses Russia of Violating Trump’s Energy Ceasefire as EU Approves New Sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of violating the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend, saying Moscow struck a thermal power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv and urging the United States to ensure Russia sticks to any agreement.

“There were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelenskyy told a conference in Warsaw via video link, according to Reuters. He said he had learned about the ceasefire deal from the media and was still waiting to see its details, adding that Ukraine had carried out no attacks on Russian refineries overnight — but making clear that Kyiv would only suspend such strikes if Russia stopped hitting Ukraine’s energy system and critical infrastructure.

Trump announced the energy ceasefire on Sunday, saying on Truth Social that both sides had agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure “effective immediately.” The announcement blindsided Kyiv and European allies: Zelenskyy said he was still waiting for the conditions agreed between the Americans and Russians, and that one specific step the U.S. was ready to take would show whether the deal had teeth. “This energy ceasefire, it can work, and it can become a major step toward ending the war if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russians respect it,” he said.

Russia has yet to comment on the ceasefire or the accusation.

Europe moves to keep pressure on Moscow

As Ukrainian officials voiced skepticism, the European Union urged the U.S. to keep pressure on Moscow and adopted nearly 1,600 new sanctions listings targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who said more than half of the listings were connected to the production chain for ballistic missiles. “We would call the US to get the sanctions in place so that we could actually finish the war,” Kallas said at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had not seen any signs in the last 48 hours of Russia respecting any form of energy ceasefire. Meanwhile, Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said at least 12 people were wounded in several Russian attacks on the city on Monday morning, and a witness described a missile striking Thermal Power Plant No. 5.

A deteriorating U.S.-Ukraine relationship

The ceasefire announcement followed days of intense U.S. pressure on Kyiv over its strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Trump has blamed for rising diesel prices that could hurt Republicans ahead of next month’s midterm elections. On Saturday, Trump warned Zelenskyy that he had “better damn well stop” attacking Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace their leader in new elections, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy responded by saying he would call elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day ceasefire — and rejected blame for fuel price increases, saying “everybody in the world” knew the war in the Middle East was a bigger factor.

The tension comes alongside a separate deal, unveiled by Trump last week, to import Russian diesel into U.S. and global markets amid record-high prices — a move that drew a bipartisan call in the U.S. Senate to reverse course. A person familiar with the situation told Reuters the U.S. had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine and weapons procurement under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List system as it pressed Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian energy sites.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.