Ukraine says Russia violated Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ – Europe live

The fast-moving row between Washington and Kyiv began on Friday when Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports. He said the move would reduce global and domestic fuel prices before next month’s US midterm elections.

A furious Zelenskyy called the decision “weak” and said it would generate “billions” in extra revenue for Putin, enabling him to wage war “even more intensely”. An equally irate Trump said Zelenskyy should “damn well stop” hitting Russian refineries. Ukraine needed a “new leader”, he said on Saturday.

Responding to Trump, Zelenskyy said it was up to Ukrainians to choose “one or another leader”. He told ABC News he was willing to accept Trump’s demands and to organise elections, but only if Putin agreed to a “total” 60-day ceasefire.

The New York Times has reported that US officials have offered the Kremlin lucrative economic incentives in exchange for a ceasefire. They reportedly include releasing billions in Russian sovereign assets that are frozen. The Trump administration also revisited a plan to sell parts of Russia’s energy company, Lukoil. The multibillion deal would benefit Middle Eastern investors, the paper reported, some with “business ties” to US negotiators. You can read the full story here:

We are restarting our live coverage of the latest developments in Europe after Donald Trump’s announcement of what he called an energy ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Sunday evening that Russian strikes hit Ukrainian energy facilities despite the US president having claimed both sides had agreed to stop hitting each other’s energy infrastructure.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said a drone had hit a Kyiv power plant on Sunday, leading to power outages in the Ukrainian capital. Shortly after, he said there had been a strike on a power plant in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, adding: “Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian ‘shaheds’ all day”, referring to a type of Iranian-made drone commonly used in the conflict.

Meanwhile, Russian ⁠attacks killed six people ⁠in two Ukrainian ⁠cities ​on Sunday, including a strike ⁠on a grocery store in Kharkiv, ​where ‌three people died ‌and 20 were ‌injured, Ukrainian officials said. Two children were ‌among the injured, the regional governor said. In western ​Ukraine, ‌a Russian strike ​killed ​three people, officials ​said.

On Sunday morning Trump had announced that “effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine”. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, without further details.

Zelenskyy expressed surprise at the announcement, saying the deal was “news to me”, while Russia has still not confirmed its agreement. Zelenskyy said on Telegram yesterday: “Ukraine is ready to refrain from striking Russian energy infrastructure – and we count on the same readiness from Russia.”

The EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said this morning that the bloc would welcome a truce but only “when it holds”. “We haven’t yet seen that also Russia will stick to it,” Kallas said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

In other developments:

• Nato Supreme Allied Cmdr Europe Alexus Grynkewich is due to deliver a warning to Russia at a security conference in Warsaw over the alliance’s ability to counter any attack from Moscow.

• The Lithuanian ⁠foreign minister Kestutis ​Budrys said the EU should designate the Russian ‌intelligence agency GRU ​as ⁠a ​terrorist organisation.

• The Nobel memorial prize in economics, the final award in this year’s cycle, will be announced at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm from 10.45am UK time.

• Trump’s ceasefire announcement came two days after he announced a controversial agreement to buy Russian diesel fuel – temporarily lifting US sanactions – prompting outrage from Ukraine and its European allies, who said it would embolden Moscow.

• The Trump administration is threatening to stop the procurement system that provides Ukraine with weapons in order to press Kyiv to halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, the Financial Times has quoted officials in Europe as saying. They said the US was lobbying European capitals and Kyiv in an attempt to end the attacks on Russian oil refineries.