Zelensky says Russia struck six Ukrainian energy sites after ceasefire announcement

Russia struck six Ukrainian energy facilities after the United States announced an energy ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The attacks came hours after Donald Trump said the arrangement was effective immediately.

Zelensky reported 33 people injured in strikes on energy sites. Power outages followed damage to the grid in Izyum, while Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo announced new cuts in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

On Monday evening, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian drone hit a 25-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district. One person was killed and 11 injured; several cars caught fire in the courtyard.

Power restrictions after infrastructure strikes

Ukrenergo said electricity restrictions were introduced to prevent damaged equipment from being overloaded. Energy and railway infrastructure in western Ukraine was also targeted overnight.

Zelensky told Fox News that Ukraine had not attacked the sites, while Russia had hit gas stations, energy infrastructure and other facilities. He said he believed the strikes were Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to Trump.

Conflicting assessments of the truce

Zelensky initially said the ceasefire announcement was news to him, but backed it as a possible step towards ending the war if the United States ensured Russia respected it. Trump said the sides had agreed after he demanded it and said the war had to be settled.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine did not deserve the “respite” a ceasefire would bring. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would welcome an agreement when it held, while Estonia’s foreign minister said the ceasefire was not working.

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged strikes on energy infrastructure for months. Moscow describes the sites it hits as legitimate targets because they support Ukraine’s military operation, while Zelensky says Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia aim to reduce its ability to finance the war.