Zelenskyy says Ukraine ready for energy truce with Russia if Moscow reciprocates

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Ukraine is ready to stop striking Russian energy infrastructure if Russia reciprocates the halt, a proposal he said was initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump during recent trilateral talks. In comments reported by Ukrainian media, Zelenskyy explained that the idea of an “energy truce” was raised by the American side during peace negotiations held in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24.

Mirror Approach to De-escalation

Zelenskyy emphasized there is no direct bilateral agreement with Russia on the issue, but Ukraine will maintain a “mirror attitude” toward such steps. “If Russia does not attack our energy … we will not attack their energy,” he stated, adding that he believes this reciprocal restraint is what U.S. mediators expected. The Ukrainian leader also thanked Trump for intervening with Russian President Vladimir Putin to avoid attacks on Ukrainian cities during extreme cold weather, a topic Zelenskyy said was discussed in the UAE.

Awaiting Implementation and Russian Response

Zelenskyy noted that the coming days would reveal whether the understanding is being implemented. Russian authorities have not yet publicly commented on the proposed energy truce. The remarks follow Trump’s statement during a U.S. Cabinet meeting on Thursday that he personally asked Putin to refrain from firing on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities amid harsh winter conditions.