Ukraine is ready to stop strikes on energy infrastructure if Russia agrees to abide by the US proposal for a week-long truce, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
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"If Russia does not strike our energy infrastructure - generating facilities or any other energy assets - we will not strike theirs," Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv late Thursday. "We want to end the war and are ready for de-escalation steps."
US President Donald Trump earlier stated at the White House that he had asked Kremlin head Vladimir Putin "not to shell Kyiv and various cities for a week, and he agreed to do so."
Trump said he personally asked Putin not to shell Ukraine for a week29.01.26, 19:33 • [views_5242]
So far, the Kremlin, the publication writes, has not confirmed an agreement to cease missile and drone attacks.
Trump's proposal for an energy truce, which would provide more room for negotiations aimed at ending the war, is "more of an opportunity than an agreement," Zelenskyy said. "Whether it will work or not, and what exactly will work, I cannot say at this moment," the President noted.
Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine overnight, launching one ballistic missile and 111 combat drones, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram.
Zelenskyy, the publication writes, criticized Ukraine's European allies for delays in supplying missiles for air defense systems, which, he said, exacerbated the country's energy difficulties under Russian pressure.
"Imagine: I know that ballistic missiles are approaching our energy infrastructure; I know that Patriot systems are deployed; and I know that there will be no electricity because there are no missiles to intercept them," he said.
Ukraine and Russia continue US-mediated peace talks after a two-day meeting in the United Arab Emirates last week. Zelenskyy said it is currently unclear whether a second meeting in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for Sunday, will take place.
He said the key issue of Russia's territorial claims to Ukraine remains unresolved. Russia demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from areas of eastern Donetsk Oblast that Putin's forces have failed to occupy in fighting since 2014, the publication writes.
The US proposed creating a so-called "free economic zone" in Donetsk Oblast, which would mean the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops. Kyiv rejected this idea and instead proposed that Russia and Ukraine cease hostilities along existing front lines.
"In my opinion, the least problematic possible solution is 'we stay where we are.' That is our position," Zelenskyy said. "The issue of control over any territory, including a free economic zone, must also be fair. In particular, it must provide for Ukraine to retain control over the territories we currently control."
This issue was discussed in Abu Dhabi, and it was agreed that the parties would resume negotiations at the next meeting, "and that we would receive feedback from the Russian Federation," he said.
Zelenskyy reiterated that he is ready to meet with Putin and Trump for peace talks in any country except Russia and its ally Belarus. He rejected a proposal from Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov to come to Moscow for talks with Putin.
"I can just as well invite him to Kyiv, let him come," Zelenskiy said. "I am publicly inviting him, if he dares, of course."