Donald Trump announces a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on energy infrastructure, but Volodymyr Zelensky sees it as news. It is the Ukrainian president himself who tells this to the journalist from Axios Barak Ravid: Kiev is ready to accept a truce, as long as Moscow also joins. First, though, he wants to know when he should start.
“Effective immediately, there is an energy ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have agreed. Do not violate it!” the American president wrote today, Sunday 11 October, on his Truth social network, without providing any further details on the agreement.
However, Zelensky’s words give a different picture from that of an agreement already shared by both parties. “The ceasefire announcement was news to me. But if the Russians agree to an energy truce, Ukraine will agree,” he told Axiosas also reported by Reuters. Then the request addressed to Washington: “If President Trump has negotiated it with Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire will begin: we are ready and will accept it.”
The timing, conditions and methods of the truce announced by the White House therefore remain to be clarified. A suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure would also have a limited perimeter: it would not be equivalent to a general ceasefire.
The refineries and the agreement on Russian diesel
The announcement comes after Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. On Saturday the American president had contested Kiev’s strategy, going so far as to argue that Ukraine should “get a new president”.
The previous day, Trump had announced an agreement with Moscow to purchase large quantities of Russian diesel, accompanied by an easing of US sanctions against Russia. It is in this context that the energy truce fits in: announced as immediately operational by Washington, but on which the Ukrainian president, once again caught off guard, is still asking for information.
Another Yandex data center hit
On the front of attacks on Russian infrastructure, meanwhile, a drone damaged Yandex’s data center in the Vladimir region, forcing the company to completely suspend its activity. This was reported by the Russian state agency Tass, which cites a communication from the same company.
There were no casualties and emergency services attended the scene. Yandex reported that the configuration of the resources left available is “unstable” and that the platform is operating in emergency mode.
It is the third attack on the group’s infrastructure in four days. On Friday, Ukrainian drones hit a plant in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow. On Thursday the company, often called the “Russian Google”, announced the decommissioning of the Sasovo data center after a Ukrainian attack.
The latter facility houses two of the three supercomputers used to develop the company’s artificial intelligence model. The attacks therefore also affect Yandex’s technological infrastructure.
Zelensky to Trump: “The Ukrainians choose the president”
Adding to the misunderstandings about the truce is the political clash over the elections. Interviewed by ABC after Trump’s declarations on the need to change president, Zelensky claimed the right of Ukrainians to choose their own leadership.
“With all due respect to President Trump, it is up to our society, our people, to choose this or that leader,” he said. The Ukrainian president reiterated his willingness to organize elections if Vladimir Putin accepts a 60-day ceasefire that allows them to take place.
In the meantime, he added, Ukraine will continue to defend itself to protect its homes, freedom and independence. Zelensky said he counted on the help of the United States and European partners to stop the war, expressing hope that unity between Washington and Europe could be preserved.