Zelenskyy Accuses Russia of Rejecting Trump's Energy Ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of undermining President Donald Trump's proposed energy ceasefire on Monday, October 12, 2026, after Russian forces continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Speaking to Fox News, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was prepared to suspend attacks on Russian energy facilities but called for stronger pressure on Moscow amid continued hostilities.

Trump announced Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate halt to attacks on energy facilities. However, Moscow had not confirmed accepting the arrangement, and the proposal's scope remained disputed, according to the report.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had already refrained from targeting Russian energy infrastructure overnight in response to Trump's announcement.

"We are ready today for energy ceasefire, as President Trump said. But I'm not sure that Putin is ready because even after yesterday's messages from the president about energy cease fire, Putin attacked our gas infrastructure," Zelenskyy told Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer.

When asked whether Ukraine would comply with the proposed ceasefire, Zelenskyy confirmed his government's position.

"Of course," Zelenskyy said.

He maintained that Ukrainian forces had avoided attacks on Russian energy facilities while Russian strikes continued against Ukrainian infrastructure.

"We didn't attack any energy objects on the territory of Russia because President Trump said that there will be an energy cease fire between Ukraine and Russia. And we didn't attack, but Russia attacked our gas stations, energy infrastructure, infrastructure and other things," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president characterized the continued attacks as Moscow's response to Trump's initiative.

"It was his answer to President Trump. He attacked our energy infrastructure," Zelenskyy said.

He also questioned whether Russia had accepted the proposed arrangement.

"The communication from Russia was very clear that they don't know anything about energy ceasefire," Zelenskyy said.

According to reporting by Axios, a White House official said the initial proposal focused on stopping attacks against oil refineries, with a broader agreement covering power plants and electricity grids potentially following. The official acknowledged that Russia had not agreed to the proposal.

Zelenskyy argued that an agreement limited to refineries would not adequately protect Ukraine's electricity supply. He defined the proposed arrangement as a mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.

"When we speak about energy ceasefire, it means only one thing: that they don't attack our energy infrastructure and we don't respond to their energy infrastructure. This is called energy ceasefire," Zelenskyy said.

Asked whether Ukraine would stop targeting Russian refineries, he made Kyiv's position conditional on Russian compliance.

"If Russia will not attack our energy, we will not attack the energy," Zelenskyy said.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that they contribute to rising fuel prices. Zelenskyy disputed that assessment and pointed to disruptions affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Everybody understands that the price on diesel doesn't depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia," Zelenskyy said.

He attributed diesel price pressures to the disruption in the strategic waterway.

"Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking of Hormuz Strait," Zelenskyy said.

The interview also addressed Trump's calls for Ukraine to hold new presidential elections. Trump had criticized Zelenskyy over the weekend and argued that Ukraine had missed opportunities to negotiate a settlement with Russia.

Zelenskyy rejected the suggestion that Washington could determine Ukraine's leadership, emphasizing that the country's voters should decide.

"If President Trump wants to change the leader in Ukraine, he has to know that only our people can change," Zelenskyy said.

He said he was willing to organize an election but maintained that ongoing attacks made preparations and voting unsafe. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would need at least 60 days to prepare election infrastructure securely.

"I'm ready for elections. Really, we need a minimum 60 days for security of infrastructure to prepare for elections," Zelenskyy said.

He cited continuing Russian drone and missile attacks as a threat to voters.

"We are speaking about thousands of drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, how can people vote?" Zelenskyy said.

He distinguished the security challenges from the legal requirements governing elections.

"It's not even about the law. The law is very important. But we speak first of all about security," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy also said his most recent direct conversation with Trump took place in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in late September.

Ukrainian officials separately reported extensive attacks on energy facilities. Denys Sienik, Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Washington, said Russian forces struck a power plant in Kyiv, disrupting electricity and water supplies, before attacking a thermal power plant in Kharkiv after Trump's announcement.

Sienik reported the scale of attacks on electricity infrastructure over the preceding week.

"In total, over the course of the week, Russia struck electricity generation and transmission facilities more than 200 times," Sienik wrote on X on October 11, 2026.

East2West News reported that three civilians, including a 16-year-old boy and two women aged 19 and 51, were killed in a strike near a grocery store in the Kharkiv region. The agency also reported five injuries in an attack on a residential high-rise.

A woman in Pisochyn described the impact of strikes near a power plant shortly after Trump's announcement, according to East2West News.

"We believed the statement that they wouldn't strike energy infrastructure," the woman said.

She described the short interval between the announcement and the reported attacks.

"Just ten minutes after that promise was made, there were already five strikes," she said.

East2West News also reported a Ukrainian strike on a Russian military base in occupied Khrustalnyi, in the Luhansk region, where three large fires were reportedly visible. The reported damage and casualty figures could not be independently confirmed. Reuters separately reported that Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy targets continued despite Trump's announcement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov opposed a 60-day ceasefire intended to facilitate Ukrainian elections. He argued that European countries would use such a pause to replenish Ukraine's weapons supplies.

"I don't think he deserves a respite," Lavrov said Monday, according to the BBC.