Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Kyiv is ready to take steps towards de-escalating its war with Russia if Moscow agrees to do the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that both sides had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.
With the international oil prices climbing again, Trump reportedly berated Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries, blaming them for causing a shortage in diesel fuel. He said in a social media post on Monday, that Ukraine had agreed not to target Russian energy facilities and that Russia had agreed to reciprocate. Russia did not immediately comment on the announcement.
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In his daily address, Zelensky referred to what he described as a US proposal for a mutual suspension of strikes against critical infrastructure. He stated that Ukraine would support such a move if it became an initial step towards reducing hostilities, AFP reported.
Zelensky also claimed that Ukraine's attacks on targets linked to Russia's war economy were putting pressure on Moscow. However, he said that Kyiv had yet to see a genuine commitment from Russia to end the war. He added that Ukraine would be willing to take further de-escalatory measures if its US partners could secure a sincere and lasting Russian commitment to ending the conflict.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly argued that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is contributing to higher fuel prices in the United States rather than the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.
AFP reported that a previous US push for a broader ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has made little visible progress. US envoys travelled to Moscow and Kyiv earlier this month, but no major breakthrough was announced.
Ukraine has continued to seek additional air defence systems from its allies as Russia increases its attacks on the country. Zelensky has reportedly particularly pressed partners for stronger anti-missile capabilities.
Oleksandr Pertsovsky, the chief executive of Ukrainian Railways, told AFP that Russian attacks on Ukraine's rail infrastructure were becoming increasingly severe. "Each month, each week, is generally worse than the previous one," he stated.
Pertsovsky's comments followed a weekend strike on a train which was frequently used by diplomats near Ukraine's border with Poland. Poland confirmed that the Russian strike occurred about two kilometres from the border.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also stated that Warsaw had received information suggesting that Moscow could be planning attacks on border crossings. Ukrainian officials had separately reported attacks targeting road checkpoints near the Moldovian border according to AFP.
The European Union (EU) countries, on Monday, delayed a deadline for prolonging sanctions on Russia after France pushed for billionaire Alisher Usmanov to be removed from a blacklist, diplomats told AFP.
The EU's sanctions list, covering nearly 3,000 individuals and entities, requires renewal every six months and was due to expire on Wednesday. EU ambassadors instead pushed the deadline back by one week following the dispute over Usmanov.
Usmanov, a 73 year old Uzbek-Russian metals tycoon and former major shareholder of Arsenal football club, was sanctioned by the EU in 2022 over what Brussels described as his close links to the Kremlin, AFP reported.
The French initiative reportedly surprised several EU member states. Ireland, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, stressed that extending the sanctions was necessary in order to maintain pressure on Russia'a war effort and those supporting it.
The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that France's move was linked to negotiations over the release of French citizens detained in Azerbaijan.
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