Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that his country was ready to take steps toward de-escalation if Russia made a similar commitment, referring to a US proposal for a mutual halt to strikes on critical infrastructure. In his daily address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to support de-escalation if Russian strikes on its critical facilities stopped, in exchange for a halt to Ukrainian attacks that he said were carried out in response to them.
He added that Kyiv would take similar steps if Washington succeeded in securing a “genuine, sincere and long-term” Russian commitment to ending the war. Zelenskyy did not confirm US President Donald Trump’s statement that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to refrain from targeting energy facilities.
Trump calls for an end to attacks on Russian fuel refineries
Trump had asked his Ukrainian counterpart not to allow attacks on Russian diesel refineries, saying the war between the two countries was driving up fuel costs for Americans. Trump said on Sunday that Zelenskyy should stop attacking diesel fuel refineries in Russia because the strikes were causing shortages, and urged him to choose other targets.
The US president linked the fuel shortage to the Russian-Ukrainian war, not the conflict in the Middle East. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, had previously said Zelenskyy could visit Moscow if he was ready for dialogue. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the invitation to the Ukrainian president remained open.
Russia says operations continue and drones are downed
It also said its forces had used Geran-4 drones in strikes targeting trains and military transport convoys in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions. Long-range strikes between Russia and Ukraine have escalated in recent months, hitting factories, warehouses, energy facilities, ports and vessels in the Black Sea.
The attacks have killed civilians and caused a fuel crisis and damage to the Russian companies Wildberries and Ozon. In Ukraine, the attacks have disrupted a large part of agricultural exports and damaged the metals and retail sectors. Oleksandr Pertsovsky, chief executive of Ukrzaliznytsia, said the railway network was facing a sustained campaign of strikes that was intensifying at an accelerating pace.
Peskov blamed Kyiv for the escalation, saying Russia had expanded the scope of its strikes after the Ukrainian side began escalating. Two weeks ago, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv in an attempt to revive diplomatic efforts that had been stalled since the beginning of the year.
