Zelenskyy Says Putin Defies Trump’s Ceasefire Push, Urges White House

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News on Monday that Russia was still striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure despite President Donald Trump’s announcement of what he described as an immediate energy ceasefire. Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dismissing Washington’s peace efforts and urged the United States to increase pressure on Moscow.

“We are ready today for an energy ceasefire, as President Trump said. But I’m not sure that Putin is ready because, even after yesterday’s messages from the president about an energy ceasefire, Putin attacked our gas infrastructure,” Zelenskyy told Bill Hemmer during a live interview on “America’s Newsroom.”

Asked whether Ukraine would observe the proposed truce, Zelenskyy replied, “Of course,” saying Kyiv had already held back from targeting Russian energy facilities overnight.

“We didn’t attack any energy objects on the territory of Russia because President Trump said that there will be an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. And we didn’t attack, but Russia attacked our gas stations, energy infrastructure, infrastructure and other things,” he said.

The Ukrainian president characterized the strikes as Moscow’s direct response to Trump’s ceasefire proposal.

“It was his answer to President Trump. He attacked our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said. “The communication from Russia was very clear that they don’t know anything about energy ceasefire.”

Trump said Sunday in a post on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to immediately stop attacks on energy facilities. Moscow, however, has not confirmed that it accepted the arrangement, while the exact boundaries of Trump’s proposal remain unclear.

Axios reported Sunday that a White House official said the initial proposal centered on suspending attacks against oil refineries. A wider agreement covering power plants and electricity grids could come later, the official said, while acknowledging that Russia had not yet signed on.

Zelenskyy pushes back on Trump’s refinery demands

During the interview, Hemmer asked whether Ukraine would stop striking Russia’s extensive oil-refining network. The issue has become a source of friction between Washington and Kyiv as global fuel prices continue to rise.

Zelenskyy maintained that a truce restricted to refineries would not protect Ukraine from its most serious threat: attacks on the country’s electricity system.

“When we speak about energy ceasefire, it means only one thing: that they don’t attack our energy infrastructure, and we don’t respond to their energy infrastructure. This is called energy ceasefire.”

Pressed again on whether Ukrainian forces would avoid targeting Russian refineries, Zelenskyy offered a conditional answer: “If Russia will not attack our energy, we will not attack the energy,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly objected to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, saying they are contributing to higher fuel costs. On Friday, he announced an agreement with Russia to release diesel supplies to the United States and international markets. The decision drew criticism from lawmakers who warned that it could provide Moscow with additional revenue.

Zelenskyy disputed Trump’s explanation for rising diesel prices, pointing instead to disruptions affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Everybody understands that the price on diesel doesn’t depend on our attacks on diesel in Russia,” Zelenskyy told Hemmer. “Everybody understands that it depends on the blocking of Hormuz Strait.”

‘Only our people can change’ Ukraine’s president

The interview also highlighted growing tensions over Trump’s calls for Ukraine to hold new presidential elections.

Over the weekend, Trump criticized Zelenskyy and suggested that Ukraine needed a new president, arguing that Kyiv had passed up opportunities to negotiate a settlement with Russia.

“If President Trump wants to change the leader in Ukraine, he has to know that only our people can change,” Zelenskyy responded.

The Ukrainian president said he was willing to organize an election but argued that voting remained impossible without a substantial pause in hostilities.

“I’m ready for elections. Really, we need a minimum 60 days for security of infrastructure to prepare for elections,” he said.

Zelenskyy described continuing Russian drone and missile attacks as an immediate threat to voters. “We are speaking about thousands of drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, how can people vote?” he asked.

“It’s not even about the law. The law is very important. But we speak first of all about security.”

He also said he last spoke directly with Trump in New York during the U.N. General Assembly in late September.

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Russian attacks continue as Moscow resists ceasefire

The interview came after another series of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and residential areas.

Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Washington, Denys Sienik, said Sunday that Russian forces struck a power plant in Kyiv, disrupting electricity and water supplies, before attacking a thermal power plant in Kharkiv following Trump’s announcement.

“In total, over the course of the week, Russia struck electricity generation and transmission facilities more than 200 times,” Sienik wrote on X on Oct. 11, 2026.

East2West News agency reported Monday that three civilians — a 16-year-old boy and two women, ages 19 and 51 — were killed in a strike near a grocery store in the Kharkiv region. The agency also reported that five people were wounded in an attack on a residential high-rise.

In Pisochyn, a woman described witnessing the bombardment of a power plant shortly after Trump’s announcement, according to East2West. “We believed the statement that they wouldn’t strike energy infrastructure,” she said. “Just ten minutes after that promise was made, there were already five strikes.”

The agency also reported a Ukrainian strike on a Russian military base in occupied Khrustalnyi, in the Luhansk region, where three large fires were reportedly visible. The damage and casualty figures could not be independently confirmed.

Reuters separately reported Monday that Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy targets despite Trump’s announcement, while Kyiv maintained that it had refrained from attacking Russian refineries.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, rejected the prospect of a 60-day ceasefire to facilitate Ukrainian elections, arguing that European countries would use the pause to replenish Ukraine’s weapons supplies.

“I don’t think he deserves a respite,” Lavrov said Monday, according to the BBC.

Trump’s Russian diesel deal draws criticism

The latest developments have intensified scrutiny of Trump’s decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel, which critics argue could provide Moscow with additional revenue while it continues its military campaign.

Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a former deputy assistant secretary of state during Trump’s first administration, questioned whether the arrangement would undermine U.S. leverage over Putin.

“Both Russia and Ukraine seemed surprised by the announcement of an energy ceasefire, and unsurprisingly, Russia has continued to attack Ukrainian energy facilities — reportedly as recently as a few hours ago,” Filipetti told News Outlet.

“Putin probably hopes the new diesel deal — which directly undermines recent US legislation calling for an increase in tariffs and sanctions against Russian energy — will discourage President Trump from holding Putin accountable for these continued violations and attacks.”

Filipetti argued that Russian energy revenue remains a critical source of financing for Moscow’s war effort. “If we want a real ceasefire, paying directly for Putin’s war machine through this new diesel deal is not the way to do it,” she said.

“President Trump’s goal of a ceasefire could be a real win — but it’s only going to happen if we stop the diesel deal.”

Morgan Murphy, former head of public diplomacy for the Special Presidential Envoy to Russia and Ukraine, offered a different assessment, defending Trump’s efforts to secure a negotiated settlement. “President Trump has consistently prodded both sides toward the only realistic outcome — negotiation,” Murphy told News Outlet.

“Both sides are losing right now: Ukraine doesn’t have the combat power to retake seized land, and Russia is destroying its future demographics with every passing day.”

Murphy argued that prolonging the fighting would only deepen the human toll: “Trump is right to push for a ceasefire. An endless war of attrition benefits only the makers of weapons and coffins.”

In his Fox News interview, Zelenskyy also emphasized the human cost of the war, saying Russian strikes were killing between 20 and 30 civilians a day, a figure Fox News has not independently verified.

“We want to end this war as quickly as possible,” he said.

“Ceasefire is a good first step from both sides. This is very important.”

News Outlet has reached out to the White House for comment but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.