Ukraine and Russia accused one another yesterday of flouting a truce on energy strikes brokered by the United States, and the European Union said it would not meet conditions set by Russia for a planned ceasefire in the Black Sea.
The United States announced separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday to pause their strikes in the Black Sea and against each other’s energy targets, but the rhetoric from Moscow and Kyiv suggested they remained far apart.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the US side told Kyiv the deals were effective as soon as they were announced. But the Kremlin said the Black Sea agreement would not enter force until a sanctioned Russian state bank was reconnected to the international payment system. Europe said that would not happen until a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
The Kremlin contends it has already been implementing a pause on energy attacks since March 18, though a senior Ukrainian presidential official said Russia had attacked eight Ukrainian energy facilities since that date.
On paper, the agreements are a tangible step towards a ceasefire after Russia launched its February 2022 invasion, unleashing the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War that rages on along a 1,000km front line.
Led by Donald Trump, who wants a quick peace, the United States on Tuesday published two separate joint statements with Moscow and Kyiv outlining the deals, but neither document set out a clear timeline for their implementation.
Overnight, Russia said it had taken down nine drones, including two over the Black Sea. It also said Ukraine tried to attack a gas storage facility in Russian-occupied Crimea and energy infrastructure in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions. Ukraine said it conducted no such strikes.
Ukraine’s military reported 117 Russian drone attacks overnight. Local officials said the city of Kryvyi Rih had been hit by the biggest drone attack it has faced yet.
Zelenskiy called on the United States to further sanction Moscow, which he said was clearly not pursuing a ‘real peace’ after the latest night of Russian drone attacks.
“Launching such large-scale attacks after ceasefire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace,” Zelenskiy wrote on X.
Zelenskiy later arrived in Paris for a European summit on Ukraine.
Diplomats have told Reuters that most of the curbs the Kremlin says should be lifted before a Black Sea truce comes into effect relate to European Union sanctions and restrictions.
Ukraine’s statements yesterday did not say whether Russia had hit energy infrastructure with its latest attack. At least 15 explosions detonated in Zelenskiy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih overnight during a Russian drone attack, though no one was killed or injured.
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