President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that an “ENERGY CEASEFIRE” was in effect between Russia and Ukraine, saying both parties had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy infrastructure. “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said, according to a Gateway Pundit report on his statement.
The announcement came with a pointed backdrop. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump had blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the continuation of the war and for elevated oil and diesel prices following Ukraine's latest strike on a Russian oil export hub. “I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said then. Two days later, he declared the energy truce.
Zelensky responded within hours. “I just spoke with Mark Carney, @alexstubb, and @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte. We discussed the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump,” Zelensky said. “Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side. For our part, Ukraine always FULLY supports steps toward de-escalation, the protection of lives, and the decisions needed to end the war and guarantee lasting peace. Thank you!”
Moscow has yet to comment publicly on the purported ceasefire that Trump said both sides had agreed to, according to BBC News.
By Sunday afternoon, the sequence had taken a sharp turn. The account @FirstSquawk reported that “RUSSIA HIT KHARKIV'S MAIN POWER PLANT HOURS AFTER TRUMP ANNOUNCED AN 'ENERGY CEASEFIRE,' WITH ZELENSKY CONFIRMING THE HIT ON CHP-5 — A MAJOR HEAT-AND-POWER FACILITY — AND SAYING RUSSIA CARRIED OUT MORE THAN 200 ATTACKS ON UKRAINIAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE PAST WEEK ALONE.” Ukraine's Presidential Office confirmed that the attack occurred after Trump announced the ceasefire, and a thermal power plant was struck at least twice, Ukrainian officials said, according to ABC News.
Zelensky said in his nightly address that Russia struck Kharkiv's second-largest power plant hours after the ceasefire declaration, and characterized the strike as one of more than two hundred attacks on Ukraine's power grid over the past week, according to Euromaidan Press.
The developments in Ukraine unfolded alongside a separate signal of escalation involving Russia, Iran, and the United States. The account @FirstSquawk reported that “RUSSIA'S ROSATOM SAYS 135 RUSSIAN STAFF ARE NOW BACK AT IRAN'S BUSHEHR NUCLEAR PLANT, UP FROM AROUND 20 WHO STAYED AFTER THE FEBRUARY EVACUATION, HAVING EVACUATED MORE THAN 600 STAFF WHEN U.S.-ISRAELI STRIKES ON IRAN BEGAN IN LATE FEBRUARY 2026.”
In Brussels, the European Commission said the EU will increase funding for drones and missiles to bolster Ukraine's defenses and secure its skies, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen backing Zelensky's call for a ceasefire with Russia, according to the account @FirstSquawk.
The speed of reaction—from Trump's declaration to Zelensky's statement to the confirmation of the Kharkiv strike—was carried across multiple accounts, including @gatewaypundit, which noted that the president announced the ceasefire and that Zelensky responded. The account @FirstSquawk carried the strike report and the European Commission's funding pledge. BBC News, ABC News, Euromaidan Press, and i24NEWS also reported on the sequence of events.
The gap between the announced agreement and the reported attack left the ceasefire's status unclear. Trump said both parties had agreed. Moscow has not commented. Zelensky said Ukraine supports the ceasefire and is awaiting details from the American side. Hours later, he said a major Kharkiv power plant had been hit.
Next News Network could not independently verify the claims about the ceasefire or the attack on the Kharkiv power plant.
Our Take
Once again, the American people are being asked to accept a deal at face value while the people on the ground tell a different story. President Trump says Russia and Ukraine agreed to an energy ceasefire. Zelensky says Ukraine supports it and is waiting for details. Moscow says nothing. And hours later, a major Ukrainian power plant is in flames. That is not a ceasefire. That is a press release. The pattern here is familiar: Trump talks tough on the campaign trail, then reaches a handshake with a foreign leader that may or may not be binding, and the American public is left to sort out the wreckage. The difference now is that the stakes are higher—a war in Europe, a nuclear-adjacent program in Iran, and an EU that is ramping up drone and missile funding rather than cooling things down. If this ceasefire is real, where is Moscow's signature? If it is not real, why did the White House announce it as done? The answer matters not just for Ukraine, but for every American who was told the commander-in-chief would stop the killing, not merely rebrand it. The truth is simpler than the spin: you cannot negotiate with people who do not honor their word. Trump said both parties agreed. Only one party said yes. That is a failed deal, not a foreign policy victory.
