On Sunday, Trump put forward an unscheduled declaration of an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, describing it as taking effect at once, while Zelenskiy indicated he had yet to receive any specifics about what had been agreed. No statement came from Moscow in the wake of the ceasefire announcement, which arrived at a point when Ukraine had been under sustained pressure — including from Trump — to stop targeting Russian oil refineries.
On his Truth Social platform that Sunday, Trump posted that Russia and Ukraine had reached an energy ceasefire arrangement, offering no further detail beyond a statement declaring the halt in energy-related hostilities to be in effect immediately. A proposal for a ceasefire covering energy infrastructure in Ukraine had been floated by Trump around mid-September, yet neither side had offered any acknowledgement that a workable arrangement had taken hold.
During a Saturday exchange, Trump pressed Zelenskyy to stop Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on Russian oil facilities while also urging the Ukrainian public to hold a fresh presidential vote that would remove Zelenskyy from office. At a briefing, Trump put forward the view that Zelenskiy had let pass a number of openings to reach a negotiated agreement with Moscow.
According to one person briefed on the matter, Washington placed on the table the prospect of suspending both intelligence-sharing arrangements and arms procurement channelled through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), applying that pressure as part of efforts to persuade Kyiv to stop targeting Russian energy infrastructure. A broadcast outlet with an established record of credibility carried the account of those threats. According to that same source, Zelenskiy had been in contact with European leaders, exploring ways to ease tensions with Trump. No comment from the White House had been issued by the time the inquiry was submitted.
Zelenskiy told reporters he had consulted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb about the ceasefire proposal put forward by Trump, adding that while Kyiv backed the halt in fighting, Moscow's agreement would be equally necessary for it to take effect. Details from the other party to the talks had not yet come through, according to a statement posted on Telegram.
Zelenskiy reported in his nightly video address that Russian forces had continued targeting energy infrastructure with air attacks, among them a strike on a combined heating and power facility in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. Reports of an attack were verified by a Ukrainian official, with the incident said to have occurred after Trump had announced the ceasefire.
Zelenskiy reiterated his conditional stance on halting Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil-refining facilities, telling US officials that any such pause depended on Putin first bringing an end to Russian bombardment of Ukraine's power grid. Zelenskiy responded to Trump's push for Ukrainian elections — suspended since Russia's 2022 invasion — by tying any ballot date to a prior commitment from Putin to observe a 60-day ceasefire.
Zelenskiy maintained that the decision over who should lead Ukraine belonged to Ukrainians themselves, while also calling for hostilities to cease before any such process could take place. Under Ukrainian law, elections cannot be held while martial law remains in force; Zelenskiy put a proposition to Putin directly, asking for a complete halt to hostilities lasting 60 days — two months in which, he said, the conditions for organising a vote could be met.
Denying any responsibility for rising energy costs, the Ukrainian leader pointed to the conflict in the Middle East as a weightier driver of price increases — one that, in his view, the broader international community had come to recognise. On Saturday, Zelenskiy contended that a fuel supply arrangement Trump had announced between the United States and Russia would hand Moscow additional room to sustain its military operations against Ukraine, raising the prospect of further casualties.
According to the outline Trump presented on Friday, Russia would move promptly to release over 300,000 metric tons of diesel — a volume translating to roughly 2.25 million barrels — into both American and international fuel markets. Roughly 1.5 million barrels of diesel leave the country each day bound for foreign markets. Trump also stated, according to his account, that the work stoppages were tied to rising diesel costs that he believed could affect his party's performance in the midterm elections the following month.
A number of members of the US Congress raised objections to the agreement covering diesel. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis raised concerns that the diesel supply arrangement with Russia may breach federal law and could pose a threat to the safety of American military personnel.
A Kyiv resident, Sabina, a primary school teacher aged 40, conveyed opposition to Trump's comments proposing that Ukraine find a new leader prepared to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that wartime conditions preclude holding elections and characterising the remarks as a perceived abandonment by allied partners.
Six people lost their lives on Sunday — three near a grocery store in Kharkiv and three more in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk — in strikes that Ukrainian authorities attributed to Russia. Moldovan authorities documented the arrival of unmanned aerial vehicles — attributed by officials to Russian origin — at a location roughly 35 kilometres from Chisinau, the country's capital, with the incident occurring along the stretch of territory that borders Ukraine to the east.
