On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists that Kyiv is ready to halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure if Moscow does the same, with hopes to end the war before winter.
Ukraine is ready to halt strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow agrees to do likewise, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, adding both Kyiv and Washington want the war to end before winter.
"We are ready for any kind of format of energy ceasefire" if Russia agrees to "not attack our energy system", Zelensky told journalists on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Ukrainian leader however said he did not know Moscow's position, expressing hope that the "American side will find a way ... to bring them to any kind of negotiations".
Efforts led by Washington to broker a deal to end the hostilities – which have raged since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – have stalled in recent months as the United States has shifted focus to its war against Iran.
Russia and Ukraine have for months been engaged in intensifying long-range strikes targeting a growing number of civilian sites, including factories, warehouses and energy and port infrastructure, as well as ships in the Black Sea.
US President Donald Trump, who met with Zelensky in New York on Tuesday, said last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other's energy facilities, a day after he chastised Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries.
Zelensky described the Tuesday meeting with Trump as "positive and productive", saying in a post on X that "both the US and Ukraine want to see this senseless Russian war ended before winter".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
