Washington, October 2026 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday attributed rising fuel prices to the conflict in the Middle East and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting claims linking higher energy costs to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil facilities.
Speaking to ABC’s This Week, Zelensky responded to criticism from US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk over the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war. He argued that pressuring Ukraine was easier than finding a way to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict.
“They’re increasing because of the war in Middle East, of the blocking of Hormuz, because of these reasons. Everybody understands it,” Zelensky said, referring to fuel prices.
Trump has accused Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian refineries of contributing to higher diesel costs in the United States. In a clip aired by CNN on Sunday, Trump said Ukraine’s actions were creating difficulties for American farmers and ranchers and demanded that Zelensky stop the attacks.
During the ABC interview, Zelensky reiterated that Kyiv was prepared to suspend attacks on energy infrastructure if Moscow agreed to do the same.
“We are ready for energy ceasefire, not to attack energy both sides,” he said.
Zelensky called on Trump to communicate the proposal to Moscow, arguing that a mutual halt to attacks on energy facilities would be a fair arrangement.
“Don't attack us. Don't kill our children. We will stop attack your diesel,” he said.
The Ukrainian president also alleged that Russia had carried out 196 strikes against Ukraine’s electricity sector and 20 attacks on gas and oil facilities during the week. He further claimed that 153 civilians had been killed. These figures were not independently verified in the supplied account.
Later on Sunday, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that an immediate energy ceasefire had been agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed,” Trump wrote.
However, Zelensky subsequently told Axios that the announcement had come as a surprise to him. Moscow had not publicly confirmed the arrangement at the time, leaving questions about its scope and implementation.
The Ukrainian president also responded to Trump’s call for Ukraine to elect a new leader. Zelensky proposed a 60-day comprehensive ceasefire to allow elections to be organised.
“So please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days off. Total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections,” he said.
The exchanges highlighted continuing disagreements over responsibility for the conflict, the causes of rising energy prices and the conditions required for a ceasefire. Whether the proposed energy truce would be formally confirmed and implemented by both sides remained unclear.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
