President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire in the ongoing war, though the declaration arrived without specific details. It was followed almost immediately by reports of continued Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. As reported by NPR, the ceasefire was intended to take effect immediately, with Trump stating on social media, “Do not break it!”
Ukraine’s presidential office said a power plant in Kharkiv was hit by a strike after the ceasefire was announced. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine welcomed the announcement as good news, while Russian drones and glide bombs continued to target energy sites in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to refrain from targeting Russian energy infrastructure and is counting on a similar commitment from Moscow. He said Ukraine has proposed numerous de-escalatory steps in the past, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has historically responded only with the Russian word for no. Zelenskyy said he hopes Putin will give the international community a different answer this time.
An earlier energy pledge did not produce lasting results
The announcement follows an interview in which Zelenskyy asked Trump to pressure the Kremlin to stop attacking Ukraine’s energy systems. Trump previously claimed on September 14 that both nations agreed not to hit energy infrastructure, though that proposal did not lead to any lasting results. Trump has publicly pointed to his role in ending wars, including after missing the Nobel Peace Prize.
Officials say Russia has repeatedly tried to cut Ukrainian civilians off from power, heat, and water, a strategy they call “weaponizing winter.” Tensions between the two leaders have also been visible, with Trump suggesting that Ukraine should have a new president and blaming Zelenskyy for high diesel prices in the United States.
Zelenskyy responded that Ukraine could hold elections if a 60-day total ceasefire were implemented. He said organizing a vote during the war is logistically impossible and legally barred under martial law, and that it is ultimately up to the Ukrainian people to choose their leadership.
A Ukrainian drone strike shut down a Yandex data center in the city of Vladimir, the third attack on the company’s facilities in four days. The outage affected users in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia, preventing many from accessing banking services or ordering taxis. Yandex, which is often compared to Google and is central to Russia’s artificial intelligence efforts, said operations at the data center were completely halted.
In the city of Zaporizhzhia, search and rescue operations concluded following a Russian bombing. Zelenskyy reported that 23 people were killed in that attack, including four children, while over 30 others were injured. Local officials in the Russian border region of Bryansk reported that one man was killed and two women were wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike.
Kyiv maintains that it is keeping in contact with the United States regarding the latest ceasefire developments.
Published: Oct 12, 2026 04:45 pm