US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Ukraine and Russia have reached an agreement he described as an "energy ceasefire," after tit-for-tat strikes on energy infrastructure pushed global energy prices higher.
"Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have agreed," Trump wrote on social media on Sunday. "Don't break it! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had pushed for a full ceasefire on Sunday and said he would hold elections in Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day truce, as Russian attacks on Ukraine intensified.
"Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of a full ceasefire, 60 days, and we will hold elections," Zelenskyy told ABC on Sunday, responding to recent criticism from US President Donald Trump.
'Better to stop'
On Saturday, Trump criticized the Ukrainian president for attacking Russian oil refineries, a day after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian fuel that had been imposed to weaken Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.
"He'd better stop," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I think it's time for Ukraine to have a new president," he added.
Earlier that Saturday, Zelenskyy said Trump's announcement of a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin had emboldened Moscow. Instead, Kyiv called on Washington to pressure Moscow into serious negotiations to end the war, now in its fourth-and-a-half year.
"Today, Russia thanked the lifting of diesel export sanctions by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia," Zelenskyy said.
"Last night only confirmed further that Russia treats any easing of pressure as a sign that it can keep fighting, that it can keep bombing cities. Other signals are needed."
'For Ukrainians to decide'
The southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia is regularly targeted by Russian airstrikes, with attacks intensifying over the past few months.
On Saturday, a 6-year-old girl was among those killed in Zaporizhzhia when a strike reduced part of an apartment block to rubble. Her grandfather, Anatoliy Chumniy, stood weeping beside his granddaughter's body, placed on the ground in a white bag, after rescue workers pulled the body from the debris.
Responding to Trump's suggestion of a new leader, Zelenskyy said "it is for Ukrainians to decide" who leads them, noting that Putin also wants to change Ukraine's leadership.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to stop attacking Russian oil refineries if Moscow halts its strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
