While Ukraine reports new Russian attacks, Trump insists on an energy ceasefire

The U.S. president urges Zelensky and Putin to end the "ridiculous war," stressing that they have agreed to halt strikes on energy facilities.

US President Donald Trump has insisted that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure as he called on both sides to end the "ridiculous" war.

Trump's comments on Monday came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had attacked at least six Ukrainian energy facilities since the US president announced a ceasefire on Sunday.

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"Well, they agreed," Trump told reporters, referring to Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Because I said, 'You agree.'

When pressed about the Russian attacks, Trump said, "Well, I'll have to look at it and see, because it's been violated on both sides."

The US president has called the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 a "disaster" and claimed, without providing evidence, that at least 32,000 people have been killed in that month alone.

He said: "The only thing I know is that Zelensky and Putin should get together and end this ridiculous war."

Trump blindsided Kiev and its European allies when he announced a so-called energy truce on Sunday. The announcement came two days after he temporarily eased US sanctions against Russia, a move that angered Europe and Ukraine.

Zelensky said the move would reverse years of Western efforts to isolate Russia's economy and only embolden Putin.

Lawmakers from both major parties in the United States have also said that Gasoil's decision appears to violate US law. Several Republicans have argued that the legislation would undermine legislation Trump himself signed to tighten restrictions on Moscow.

Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine supported the energy ceasefire and had not carried out any attacks on Russian refineries overnight. He said Keef was prepared to "sign guarantees to make sure they can be trusted".

But he said it was "increasingly evident" that Moscow would not comply.

Zelensky wrote on social networks: "Today alone, the Russians attacked 6 energy facilities in Ukraine. 33 people were injured all over the country. This is happening as Russia sees the prospect of higher revenues for its war machine.

However, Russia has denied any pause in the fighting and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has vowed to continue the military campaign.

"I don't think he deserves a reprieve," he said of Zelensky. I don't think we will go back to guarantees and promises. He added that Russia will continue to pursue the goals of what it calls its "special military operations" in Ukraine.

In the meantime, Trump has identified Ukraine as the main obstacle to peace instead of Russia. He has said Putin is more eager for a deal than Zelensky and has called on Ukrainians to vote their president out — an unusually tough turn in relations that have soured since Trump returned to the White House in 2025.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, D.C., said Trump had previously announced deals between Russia and Ukraine that never materialized.

"He says he wants to protect industries like farmers and ranchers in the U.S. and to do that he needs prices to come down. But he seems to think there's a deal, but nobody else is sure there really is," Fisher said.

According to our correspondent, the latest announcement seems to be due to Trump's desire to reduce the price of diesel before the US mid-term elections on November 3.

Most polls predict that Republicans will lose control of Congress as voters become frustrated with rising prices, especially for gasoline.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's European allies have expressed skepticism about an energy ceasefire and approved the biggest set of EU sanctions since Russia's 2022 invasion.

To maintain pressure on Moscow, the Union's foreign ministers added about 1,569 people and businesses to the sanctions list of the Union.

"Russia will only negotiate seriously under pressure, which is why we are sticking to our sanctions against Russia," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Berlin.