Russia struck six Ukrainian energy facilities within hours of US President Donald Trump announcing that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed an energy ceasefire, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Trump said on Sunday that the truce would be “effective immediately”, yet the Ukrainian president said the attacks had hit “our gas stations, energy infrastructure, and other facilities”.
Blackouts followed in the city of Izyum after a Russian strike destroyed power grids, Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported. Energy and railway infrastructure in western Ukraine was also targeted overnight, according to the agency.
Zelensky said 33 people were injured in the strikes on energy facilities across the country.
Speaking to Fox News, he said: “We did not attack, while Russia attacked our gas stations, energy infrastructure, and other facilities.” He added: “I think it was Putin’s answer to President Trump.”
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine does not deserve the “respite” a ceasefire would deliver.
Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo said on Monday that “new power cuts” had hit Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia after Russian attacks damaged energy equipment. Electricity rationing has been brought in across parts of the country to keep damaged equipment from being overloaded, Ukrenergo said.
In a post on X, Zelensky called the strikes proof that Russia was “unwilling to accept an energy ceasefire”.
When Trump first announced the ceasefire on Sunday, Zelensky said news that a truce was in force was “news to him”, though he backed the proposal as a “major step toward ending the war, if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russians respect the energy ceasefire”.
Ukraine and Russia have traded strikes on energy infrastructure for months, disrupting supplies on both sides. Moscow says the installations it targets are legitimate objectives because they support Ukraine’s military operation, while Zelensky has described Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory as part of an effort to “reduce Russia’s ability to finance the war”.
BBC Verify analysis of strikes by both sides during the war found each has escalated its attacks in the run-up to the next winter.
In 2026, BBC Verify recorded 273 strikes on Russian-controlled oil and gas facilities, more than double the 124 logged over the same period in 2025. Separately, analysis of data aggregated by the global conflict monitor the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (Acled) recorded 2.4 times as many reported Russian attacks affecting Ukraine’s energy network so far this year.
Trump has pressed Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil infrastructure so that Moscow can fulfil a recently concluded deal to release diesel to the US and the global market. The deal temporarily rolls back US sanctions on energy imports, something Zelensky described as a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Global conflicts have driven fuel prices higher ahead of the US midterm elections, and on Friday Trump announced a plan to import Russian diesel into the US.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain “strongly supports President Trump’s call today for a sustained energy ceasefire to start now”. France, Canada and the EU also voiced support.
Among European officials the response was mixed. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would welcome an energy ceasefire “when it holds”, telling a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday: “We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it.” Estonia’s foreign minister said the ceasefire was “not working”.
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