The Kremlin on Friday confirmed that the US-brokered ceasefire on energy sites has effectively ended. Last month Ukraine and Russia agreed to temporarily pause all attacks against each other’s energy infrastructure.
Washington hailed this is as a potential key first-step toward a more comprehensive ceasefire, which has still not gotten off the ground. But both warring sides have accused the other of violating the energy site truce multiple times over, in the prior few weeks. Russia still sees the initiative as positive.
The 30-day moratorium has reached its deadline, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov having confirmed “the month [of moratorium] has indeed expired.
He added, “As of this moment, there have been no other instructions from the supreme commander-in-chief, President Putin.” The initial partial ceasefire was brokered in a phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin on March 18.
Russia is leaving open the potential for another interim deal, also amid ongoing efforts to get Moscow and Kiev to the negotiating table.
“We believe that certain progress can already be acknowledged. This progress is related to the moratorium on not striking energy infrastructure facilities,” Peskov continued. “The Russian Federation adhered to this moratorium, which cannot be said about the Ukrainian side.”
It’s unclear the degree to which Russian airstrikes may have hit Ukraine’s energy and power infrastructure over the past month, but what is clear is that huge aerial attacks have been ongoing, including the mass casualty strike on the city of Sumy days ago.
Moscow has meanwhile complained that any sweeping truce deal will be hard to monitor, in terms of ensuring conformity to the terms. Putin too has said that Ukraine’s military would have to be closely monitored, as any partial truce would allow it to simply rearm and regroup.
For this reason, Putin has made clear that he won’t agree to anything ‘partial’ or temporary in nature to halt the fighting. Russia wants a comprehensive truce, but this would require Ukraine giving up its four eastern territories, and Moscow also wants to see ‘de-Nazification’ and a change in government in Kiev.
Bloomberg leaks latest US ceasefire plan.
“Proposal would freeze the war, with Ukrainian territories now occupied by Russia remaining under Moscow’s control. Kiev’s aspirations of joining NATO would also be off the table.”
No denazification, potential EU contingent in Ukraine,… pic.twitter.com/46LNWHf9or
— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) April 18, 2025
All of these things remain a tall order, and Zelensky is still lashing out at the White House for engaging in talks with Moscow but without the Ukrainian government’s direct input.
For example, on Friday Zelensky said of US officials outlining a peace plan in Paris that Trump’s representatives have no “mandate to discuss Ukrainian territories, because these territories belong to our people.” He added: “We do not discuss territories until the ceasefire. We will never consider Ukrainian lands as Russian.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 04/18/2025 – 21:55
