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Ukraine is seeking a concrete mechanism to ensure that Russia complies with a possible agreement to halt strikes on energy and other critical infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv has proposed an arrangement with Russia that would stop attacks on energy facilities, food supplies and other critical infrastructure essential to the population.
He said Russian forces continue to target Ukraine’s energy facilities, ports, logistics infrastructure, as well as food and pharmaceutical warehouses.
At the same time, Kyiv is not convinced that Moscow would honor such an agreement.
“If our partners are ready to ensure Russia’s genuine willingness not to strike our electricity, other energy facilities, critical infrastructure and the movement of food, then we are, of course, ready to ensure that we do not strike accordingly,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president stressed that any agreement must be reliable, long-term and meaningful for people’s lives. Kyiv does not want a temporary pause that Russia could abandon and then resume attacks.
Zelenskyy also warned against a scenario in which Moscow could use an agreement simply to gain temporary relief from fuel shortages and problems with gasoline and diesel supplies following its elections.
“The war must end. A de-escalation step involving critical infrastructure could be the first step toward peace,” he said.
Kyiv is now waiting for its international partners to provide details of how compliance with such an agreement would be monitored and enforced, particularly regarding Russia’s commitment to stop attacks on critical infrastructure.
Energy truce under discussion
The possibility of a limited energy truce between Ukraine and Russia has been discussed for several days.
On September 8, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to seek compromises with Russia on energy and grain issues. Ukrainian officials subsequently said the two sides could potentially agree on a limited winter truce involving reciprocal restrictions on strikes against energy facilities.
After U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Moscow, officials in Kyiv said diplomatic opportunities had increased.
On September 14, Zelenskyy said he wanted to discuss a possible energy and maritime truce with U.S. President Donald Trump during a potential meeting in New York on September 21–23.
Zelenskyy said that if Putin rejected a full ceasefire, Ukraine would push at minimum for a partial agreement covering energy and grain.
Trump later said that Ukraine and Russia had already agreed not to strike energy facilities, with Kyiv committing not to target Russian energy infrastructure and Moscow agreeing not to attack Ukrainian energy facilities.
