Zelenskyy vows to retaliate if Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid continue

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday in Warsaw, addressing a gathering of European security officials, that Ukraine will retaliate if Russian attacks on its power grid continue. If Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire this winter, he said, Kyiv will respond. European leaders have lined up behind Kyiv in a row with US President Donald Trump over Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Dispute over an "energy ceasefire"

On Sunday, Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Kyiv and Moscow, but Zelenskyy said neither side had agreed to one. On Monday he said he was surprised by the announcement, which appeared online while Kyiv was under attack by Shahed drones. Just hours later, Russia carried out a "targeted attack" on a power station in Kharkiv, and much of Kyiv lost power. Zelenskyy quipped that Putin clearly does not read Truth Social.

Ukraine wants a deal that would ease pressure on its electricity grid before winter, but Russia has so far been unwilling to halt attacks on infrastructure. Ahead of the cold months, Russia has stepped up strikes with jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles, causing blackouts and water shortages earlier in the season than is usual during the war.

European response

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a meeting of European foreign ministers that the bloc welcomes an energy ceasefire if it holds, but has not yet seen Russia commit to it. She said Trump's proposal, under which both sides would stop hitting oil refineries, favours Russia because it has far more of them.

Ministers from the Baltic states criticised the US decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel imports. Lithuania's foreign minister, Kęstutis Budrys, said the deal helps neither the oil products crisis nor transatlantic unity on Russia, and that Europe's way is to increase pressure.

How the row began

The dispute started on Friday, when Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports, saying it would lower fuel prices before next month's US midterm elections. Zelenskyy called the move "weak" and said it would give Putin "billions" in extra revenue. Trump replied that Ukraine should stop hitting Russian refineries and said on Saturday that Ukraine needed a "new leader". Zelenskyy responded that Ukrainians choose their leaders, and told ABC News he was ready to hold elections, but only if Putin agreed to a total 60-day ceasefire.