President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire, a halt to attacks on each other’s power and fuel infrastructure. Within hours, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal was news to him, and Moscow had not confirmed it as of Sunday afternoon, according to NBC News and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
What Trump Announced About the Energy Ceasefire
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday morning. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” The post did not say when talks took place, which facilities were covered or how compliance would be monitored.
It is not the first such announcement. NBC News noted that Trump made a similar claim a month ago, after which both sides kept up aerial attacks on energy sites. The Guardian reported that Ukrainian officials said Russia was still bombing Ukraine on Sunday, with several energy facilities damaged.
How Kyiv and Moscow Responded
Zelensky told Axios he knew nothing about an agreement, NBC reported, but signaled Kyiv would accept one. “If Russians agree to an energy ceasefire Ukraine will agree,” he said. “If President Trump negotiated it with Putin — please tell us when the ceasefire begins — we are ready and we will accept it.”
In a post on X reported by RFE/RL, he added, “It is important that Russia support it as well.” On Telegram he restated Kyiv’s conditions: “Ukraine will be ready to stop attacks on Russian refineries if Russia stops attacking our energy infrastructure. Any de-escalation steps must be mutual and with real guarantees.” Appearing on ABC News’ “This Week,” Zelensky also said he would hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire.
The Kremlin had publicly dismissed the idea days earlier. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Oct. 8, “Kyiv is not currently proposing a long-term settlement, but rather a ceasefire in an area that is its Achilles’ heel — the energy sector,” the Kyiv Independent reported.
Privately, the outlet reported, citing two Ukrainian officials and one U.S. official, Russian officials have signaled they might consider the idea but have tied it to sanctions relief and to a separate ceasefire in the Black Sea. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev visited the U.S. twice in September for meetings with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to the same report. It remains unclear which sanctions Moscow wants lifted.
The Diesel Deal Behind the Feud
Sunday’s announcement capped three days of open friction between Washington and Kyiv. On Friday the U.S. agreed to lift sanctions on Russian fuel, and Trump said Russia would “immediately” release 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and another million tons after that, NBC reported. Our earlier report covers the terms of the Russian diesel deal.
Zelensky called the decision “weak,” according to the Guardian, and said it would hand Moscow extra money for the war. Trump then said Kyiv should “damn well stop” striking Russian refineries and, on Saturday, said, “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” a clash we detailed in our report on Trump saying Ukraine needs a new president. Ukrainian negotiators were meeting Witkoff and Kushner in Florida when the diesel decision was announced and left early, the Guardian reported, citing the Kyiv Independent. Those sessions followed the Miami round of peace talks earlier in the week.
Strikes Continue on Both Sides
The fighting did not pause for the announcement. A Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia on Saturday killed at least 20 people, including four children, according to RFE/RL, while the Guardian put the toll at 23. The toll has risen since our first report on the Zaporizhzhia glide bomb attack, which cited at least 15 dead. Overnight into Sunday, an air strike in Slovyansk destroyed an entrance section of a five-story apartment block, and drones in Dnipro injured four people, including two 8-year-old girls, RFE/RL reported. Zelensky said Russia launched about 1,450 aerial bombs, 75 missiles and more than 1,640 attack drones over the preceding week.
Ukraine, meanwhile, kept hitting targets inside Russia. A drone strike on Sunday shut down a Yandex data center in Russia’s Vladimir region, and the company said some of its services were unavailable as a result, according to RFE/RL.
European governments signaled they would not follow Washington’s lead on sanctions. “This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X, adding that EU foreign ministers planned to approve new sanctions listings on Oct. 12. Downing Street said British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Zelensky the past 24 hours had been “difficult” for Ukraine.
What to Watch Next
The key tests are whether the Kremlin confirms the arrangement, whether either side publishes a start time and scope, and whether strikes on power plants and refineries actually stop. The EU sanctions decision on Monday is another marker. The Kyiv Independent reported that Witkoff told Zelensky in an Oct. 4 text message that Washington wanted to hold a three-way meeting with Russian representatives in late October, which Zelensky said Ukraine would support.
Sources
- NBC News: Trump claims Russia and Ukraine agree to energy ceasefire, but Zelenskyy says this is ‘news for me’
- The Guardian: Trump announces partial ceasefire in Ukraine war as Zelenskyy says deal is ‘news to me’
- RFE/RL: Trump Announces Energy Cease-Fire Between Ukraine And Russia As Countries Trade Strikes
- Kyiv Independent: Putin puts a price on Trump’s Ukraine energy truce