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US President Donald Trump announced on October 11 that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an energy ceasefire effective immediately, according to his post on Truth Social that was widely reported by Reuters and The Guardian. “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it,” Trump wrote. Zelensky responded that the development was a surprise but that Ukraine would support such a step if Russia followed through, a position he outlined in statements to Axios and on social media.
Zelensky told Axios the ceasefire announcement was news to him yet added that if President Trump had negotiated it with Putin then Ukraine stood ready to accept once the start time was clarified. “Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side,” Zelensky wrote on social media, according to CNN and CBS News. The Ukrainian leader held discussions on the matter with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, as he noted in his updates.
The announcement followed days of public friction between Trump and Zelensky over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Trump has blamed for driving up global diesel prices amid a broader energy crunch. Trump had suggested on Saturday that Ukraine needed a new leader willing to make a deal and demanded that Kyiv stop hitting Russian energy facilities, according to reports from Al Jazeera and Politico. Zelensky countered that any halt to Ukrainian attacks must be reciprocal with Russia ceasing strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure, a stance he repeated in an ABC News interview earlier on October 11.
A separate agreement announced by Trump on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin calls for Russia to supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to US and global markets, equivalent to about 2.25 million barrels, Reuters figures show. That deal included temporary sanctions relief from the US Treasury Department to facilitate the shipments at a time when the United States exports roughly 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day. Zelensky had criticised the diesel arrangement as a concession that would generate billions in extra revenue for Moscow and prolong the conflict now in its 56th month, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Despite the ceasefire declaration, Zelensky reported that Russian forces struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure on October 11, including a power plant in Kharkiv that left parts of the city without electricity, CBS News and The Guardian stated. Ukrainian officials said the armed forces had received orders aligned with de-escalation but would continue to respond as needed until clear commitments from Russia materialised. Trump had previously floated an energy ceasefire proposal in mid-September that neither side confirmed at the time, Reuters recalled in its coverage.
Russian state news agency TASS carried a story on Trump’s Truth Social post but published no comment from Moscow officials on whether the Kremlin had agreed to the terms, according to CNN and Politico reporting. Zelensky had pushed for a full 60-day ceasefire during recent public appearances and told ABC that he would even organise elections if Putin accepted such a pause. The mutual targeting of energy sites has intensified pressure on global fuel markets, a dynamic Trump has linked to both the Ukraine conflict and US involvement in a war with Iran, multiple outlets noted.
