Zelensky: Ukraine ready for partial ceasefire on attacks against energy facilities with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine remains ready for a partial ceasefire with Russia that includes attacks on energy facilities.

Zelensky clarified, following talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s general debate in New York, that Ukraine would refrain from launching attacks on energy facilities across the entire energy sector.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier rejected the proposal, instead pointing to efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace settlement.

At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that Trump did not ask him to refrain from attacking targets, including Russia’s oil sector.

A few days earlier, the U.S. President had blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries for the rise in diesel prices in the United States.

Zelensky said he also raised during the meeting the issue of the United States delivering additional Patriot air defense missiles.

He explained that Washington had not provided a specific answer. Zelensky stated that when discussing sensitive issues with leaders, they can either say yes or no, adding that the positive aspect is that no one said no.

Ukrainian air defenses have been unable to intercept Russian ballistic missiles except in rare cases for weeks, due to a shortage of the interceptor missiles needed for the Patriot systems Ukraine possesses.

Russian airstrikes on warehouses and energy facilities, and more recently on major steel production companies and industrial facilities, are causing increasing damage to the Ukrainian economy.

Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022.