Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump insists energy ceasefire still holds and lashes out at diesel deal critics

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Donald Trump has insisted that an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia was still holding, even as Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of relentless attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump claimed both countries “agreed” to a ceasefire because “I said, ‘You agree.’ That’s why they agreed”.

When pressed about the ongoing attacks by Russia, Trump said there had been “violations on both sides”.

Zelensky said Ukraine had observed Trump’s request not to strike targets related to energy production and was “horribly surprised” to see Moscow strike six ‌Ukrainian energy facilities ‌on Monday. He said the attack began hours after Trump announced the purported “energy ceasefire”.

The ceasefire was announced after Trump struck a contentious deal that would allow Russia to supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to American and global markets.

Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said Moscow had the capacity to increase diesel exports to pre-war levels by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Russian strikes across Ukraine have continued, with two people killed after a drone hit a Kyiv apartment block on Monday.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has condemned drone attacks on merchant ships near Bulgaria’s coast and called for “those responsible” to be held accountable.

“The Black Sea ‌has become ‌another front of ⁠escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable,” von der ‌Leyen said ​on X.

Drones struck two ships in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Tuesday, sinking one and prompting emergency rescue operations, prime minister Rumen Radev said.

Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from one ship, the Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3, with five receiving treatment for minor injuries, Radev said in a video posted to social media.

The crew, which included seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijan citizens, reported the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three aerial drones.

One crew member from the sunken vessel was rescued, Radev added, without providing details about the others aboard. The strikes on the two ships occurred 18 and 17 miles from the Bulgarian coast.

During an emergency meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council, Radev called the attacks “absolutely unacceptable” and said Bulgaria was seeking Nato and EU assistance.

While authorities do not possess clear evidence on who was responsible for the drone attacks, “logic, as I have already stated, indicates that the result is in favour of the Russian Federation,” Radev said.

The French Navy intercepted and boarded a tanker suspected of operating under a false flag as part of Russia’s shadow fleet in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, president Emmanuel Macron said.

The vessel, DF Peak, was allegedly carrying sanctioned Russian fuel when it was stopped about 450 nautical miles (833km) south of Réunion, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.

“France is determined to combat the ghost fleet, wherever it may be in the world,” Macron wrote on X, adding that the operation was conducted in accordance with international maritime law.

France’s armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin said the tanker was being escorted by the French Navy.

“International law is not optional,” she wrote on X. “Our armed forces are fully mobilized to enforce it and combat illicit activities at sea.”

The tanker, previously known as Kaliningrad, has allegedly sailed under a false Beninese flag, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. It is subject to sanctions imposed by the US, EU, Switzerland, Canada and Japan.

The vessel is believed to be part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, a network of ageing, often poorly insured tankers used to transport Russian oil and circumvent Western sanctions.

European countries have increasingly targeted these vessels in an effort to restrict Moscow’s oil revenues, which help finance its war in Ukraine.

Trump has rejected criticism of his deal to procure diesel from Russia, including from members of his own party, in comments to reporters as he departed the White House on a trip to Ohio.

On Sunday a ​group of Republican and Democratic US senators called on Trump to “reverse course” on deal, saying it could violate a 2022 law designed to support Ukraine in its bid to repel Russian invaders.

“Well, I think these are Republicans that can’t really be serious,” Trump said. “We can do a restriction on oil, but the rest of the world would be greatly, greatly affected if we do that.”

He said he wanted to do “anything that could help our farmers, our ranchers”, before adding: “I do think this: Zelensky has to focus on making a deal.”

Two Turkish citizens were detained in Germany in connection with a fire at a Starlink station in Poland, Warsaw said on Monday, adding that it believed Russia was behind the incident.

Officials from several ⁠EU countries have warned for months that ​Russia ⁠has been mounting sabotage, cyber and other hybrid attacks across Europe to erode support for Ukraine. Russia says such accusations are baseless ⁠and the result of anti-Russian hysteria.

The blaze at the Starlink station ​in ⁠central Poland in September engulfed its ‌power system and backup generator. Poland said at the time that it believed the fire was an act of sabotage aimed at disrupting internet ‌services, including for Ukraine’s military.

“We have no doubt ‌that Russian services are behind this act of sabotage, and it is worth adding that Russian services are increasingly turning to individuals linked to the criminal underworld,” Polish Special Services ⁠Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told a news conference.

Interior minister Marcin Kierwinski said the two Turkish citizens would face charges in Poland of carrying out sabotage on the instructions of a foreign intelligence agency.

Elon Musk activated Starlink services over Ukraine in 2022 after Kyiv pleaded for help in the ‌first days following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Poland has said previously it ​has been paying for Ukraine’s Starlink subscription.

Despite Musk’s subsequent clashes ‌with Ukrainian officials over his views ⁠on the war, Ukraine’s military relies on tens of thousands of ⁠Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and some drone operations.

Russia has said that it will be able to return its diesel exports to levels not seen since Ukraine began targeting the country’s oil refineries after Trump administration lifted US sanctions on Russian energy.

Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak has claimed they expect to increase export to pre-war levels.

“We will see how ‌the situation develops further, ‌but Russia has the capacity to increase diesel fuel exports. By the end of the year, exports could reach 3-3.5m metric tons per month, returning to the levels seen before the crisis,” he told Rossiya-24 state TV channel on Monday.

Russia’s diesel exports have collapsed to Ukraine’s attacks on its oil refineries as well as due to its self-imposed overseas sales restrictions.

The comments came after Trump announced on Friday that Russia had agreed to supply diesel to global markets in order to ease supply concerns, in a deal that has drawn condemnation from Ukraine and other US allies.

The agreement, which would allow Russia to export more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to the US and international markets, has drawn criticism from lawmakers across both major US parties, who warn that it could provide Moscow with additional revenue to fund its war in Ukraine without securing any concessions from Vladimir Putin.

A group of Republican and Democratic senators urged Mr Trump to “reverse course”, arguing that the deal could breach a 2022 law aimed at supporting Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.

Russian drones ⁠have damaged a ⁠cargo terminal ​in ⁠Ukraine’s ⁠port ​city ⁠of ‌Mykolaiv in attacks overnight, ‌acting ‌regional governor Heorhii Reshetilov said on Telegram on ‌Tuesday.

No loss of life has been reported so far as emergency crews worked to extinguish the fire.

Falling drone debris has ⁠damaged an industrial area ⁠in Russia’s Nevinnomyssk in the southern Stavropol region, ⁠governor ‌Vladimir Vladimirov said ‌on Telegram on ‌Tuesday, without ⁠providing details.

Nevinnomyssk is a major chemical production area, ‌among other ​industrial ‌facilities.

Donald Trump’s administration has offered Russia a deal to export diesel in an attempt to bring Vladimir Putin back to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, according to a Reuters report.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner told Ukrainian officials during a meeting in Miami on Friday that Putin was unwilling to negotiate an end to the four-and-a-half-year war, three people familiar with the discussions said.

The US envoys suggested that the agreement, which would allow Russia to supply more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to American and global markets, could help soften Moscow’s position and revive stalled trilateral talks.

The deal has drawn criticism from US lawmakers who argue it would provide Russia with additional revenue to fund its war without requiring concessions from the Kremlin.

Trump has defended the agreement, saying it would help lower energy prices in the US ahead of crucial midterm elections.

During the Miami meeting, Kushner also reiterated Washington’s demand that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries, according to two people familiar with the talks.

“The idea was that the US could go back to Russia and say ‘See, the Ukrainians stopped striking and we gave you this deal. Now it’s your turn to do something,’” one of the people said.

Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, days after unveiling the diesel agreement. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv has confirmed the ceasefire, however, and Russian forces struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Monday.

The Kremlin also rejected Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.

The Miami discussions reportedly included potential security guarantees for Ukraine, although further details were not disclosed.

A Russian strike on a high-rise residential ⁠building in a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv killed two people and injured at ⁠least seven, ​officials ⁠said on Monday.

Prosecutors in the capital, writing on ⁠Telegram, said one person had died ​after ⁠the evening ‌strike on the 25-story residence. They said a second body ‌was found in ‌a car next to the building.

Prosecutors said seven people were injured ⁠in the incident, while Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 11 people were hurt, with three being treated in hospital.

Pictures posted on unofficial Telegram channels showed ‌parts of an apartment building ​ablaze.

Russian attacks on ‌Kyiv and other ⁠Ukrainian cities, previously conducted chiefly ⁠at night, now disrupt daily ‌life virtually ​around the clock.

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