Zelenskyy backs Trump's 'energy ceasefire' as Kyiv awaits details and Russian strikes continue
The Ukrainian president said he discussed the U.S. president's announcement with allied leaders but is waiting for more information from Washington.
Analysis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he supports an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but strikes on energy infrastructure continue.
"Ukraine supports the ceasefire," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X Sunday afternoon. "And it is important that Russia support it as well."
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He said he had discussed the announcement with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and is awaiting more information from the U.S.
Trump announced the ceasefire on his platform Truth Social Sunday morning but did not give many details.
"Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed," Trump wrote. "Do not break it!"
The White House has not clarified the president's post or added any detail. The Kremlin did not provide comment.
Zelenskyy told ABC's "This Week" that Ukraine was ready to stop striking Russian refineries if Moscow halted attacks on Ukraine's energy system.
"We are asking President Trump, (to) give them (a) signal, not (to) attack energy infrastructure of Ukraine," he said.
Ceasefire announcement follows political tensions
The announcement follows a day of sharp rhetoric from Trump directed at Zelenskyy.
On Saturday, Trump said it was time for Ukraine to get a new president and blamed Zelenskyy for rising diesel prices.
"He better damn well stop," Trump told reporters at the White House regarding Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
In response, Zelenskyy said the country could hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire.
"Give us two months, 60 days off," Zelenskyy said on ABC. He added, "with all respect to President Trump, it's up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader."
Ukrainian law prohibits elections under martial law, which has been in place since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Prime Minister's Office said Carney reassured Zelenskyy that Canada will maintain its sanctions on Russia and support for Ukraine.
"The Prime Minister was clear: this agreement is in direct opposition to the efforts of Ukraine, Canada, and our allies to create peace and stability in Europe," the statement read.
It said the deal "will provide additional revenue for Russia and help finance its illegal, unjustifiable war against Ukraine."
Strikes continue amid ceasefire talk
In an evening address Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia was still hitting energy infrastructure.
"Unfortunately, Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian 'shaheds' all day today," he said. "There have been glide bomb strikes and strikes on our energy infrastructure too. A power plant in Kharkiv was attacked this evening."
The presidential office confirmed the Kharkiv attack came after Trump's ceasefire post.
Zelenskyy said search and rescue operations have ended in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia after a Russian bombing on Saturday.
Twenty-three people were killed in the attack, including four children, authorities said. More than 30 people were wounded.
On Sunday, Kyiv pressed its campaign against infrastructure deep inside Russia with a drone attack shutting down a data centre run by Russian technology giant Yandex.
This marks the third strike on the company's facilities in four days.
The attack caused outages across the company's services in dozens of Russian cities as well as in Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia, according to a Russian news outlet.
Yandex said operations have been "completely halted." No injuries were reported.
On Thursday, a drone attack took out a Yandex data centre in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow. A day later, Ukrainian drones hit the company's major data centre in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is due to participate in a European Union foreign affairs council meeting Monday that is expected to discuss increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.
With files from Global News, CBC News and Al Jazeera