Trump Announces Russia-Ukraine "Energy Ceasefire"; Moscow Has Not Confirmed It

President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in a post on Truth Social at 10:16 a.m. ET. "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" he wrote, according to an archive of the post.

As of Sunday night, Moscow had not confirmed any agreement, according to the Associated Press, AFP, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and other outlets. Ukraine said it is ready to comply if Russia does. Ukrainian officials reported new Russian strikes on power facilities in Kyiv and Kharkiv later on Sunday.

There was no joint statement, no White House fact sheet, no Kremlin readout and no Ukrainian decree.

What was announced

Trump's post gave no details on scope, duration or how the ceasefire would be checked. The only description of its scope came from an unnamed White House official who spoke to Axios on Oct. 11, 2026. The official said the post "referred to a potential deal that includes each side stopping attacks on oil refineries," which the official called "refinery for refinery."

"If attacks on oil refineries cease, a deal to stop hitting power plants and energy grids could come next," the official told Axios. The official added: "The Russians are thinking about" it. "We will know soon if they are ready."

A Ukrainian official told Axios that Ukraine has "a single oil refinery," which is damaged. "We import diesel and gas. What we need is for the Russians to stop attacking our electricity grid," the official said.

Kyiv's response

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy told Axios on Oct. 11, 2026 that Trump's announcement "was news for me. But if Russians agree to an energy ceasefire, Ukraine will agree." He added: "If President Trump negotiated it with Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire begins. We are ready, and we will accept it."

A senior source in Zelenskyy's office told ABC News on Oct. 11 that Zelenskyy learned of the announcement "from social media."

On Telegram, Zelenskyy set out Kyiv's terms: "Ukraine will be ready to stop attacks on Russian refineries if Russia stops attacking our energy infrastructure. Any de-escalation steps must be mutual and with real guarantees," according to RFE/RL.

In his nightly address on Oct. 11, Zelenskyy said: "The Armed Forces of Ukraine have received all the appropriate orders," and added, "we expect Putin to follow through on what President Trump said," according to Ukrinform. He did not say publicly what the orders were.

Moscow's position

The Kremlin had made no public statement on the announced ceasefire as of Sunday night ET, according to AP, AFP and RFE/RL.

Two members of Russia's State Duma said they knew nothing about it, the Kyiv Independent reported on Oct. 11, 2026. Igor Ananskikh, first deputy chair of the Duma's energy committee, said: "We all know that Trump often says things to keep oil prices from rising… I don't know how closely this reflects reality." Dmitry Novikov referred questions to Trump's press service.

Three days earlier, on Oct. 8, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said "a temporary halt or a freeze won't help either," according to TASS.

The diesel license

The announcement followed a TrumpΓÇôPutin phone call on Friday, Oct. 9, and a decision on Russian diesel the same day.

On Oct. 9, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Russia-related General License No. 135. The license authorizes transactions related to "the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin" that sanctions rules would otherwise bar. It runs "through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 7, 2027," according to the license text published by OFAC. The license does not authorize debits to U.S.-held accounts of Russia's central bank, National Wealth Fund or Ministry of Finance.

The license revokes no sanctions designations. Treasury described it as a "temporary general license to allow the supply of Russian diesel to the global market," CNBC reported on Oct. 9.

In a Truth Social post on Oct. 9, Trump said that after "a highly successful discussion" with Putin, "it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the American and global marketplace, another 500,000 tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 tons immediately thereafter," according to Al Jazeera and AP. "Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority," he wrote, according to AP via NPR.

In a Kremlin statement on Oct. 9, Putin said Russia "confirmed its readiness to supply oil and oil products to the American and global markets." Asked what the United States gave in return, Ushakov said: "I think the American side will provide certain additional clarifications on this matter," according to the Kremlin.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak told TASS that Russia is ending its own restrictions on diesel exports ahead of schedule and could supply the U.S. in October, AP reported via NPR on Oct. 9. Russia had banned diesel exports since July after Ukrainian refinery strikes, and the International Energy Agency says Russian diesel output fell about 30%, according to the same AP report.

U.S. ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures settled at $4.73 a gallon on Oct. 9, down 4.61%, DTN reported that day. DTN also cited other factors, including reports that China would end a de facto halt on fuel exports, and Hurricane Isaias.

Clayton Seigle of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told AP that the deal "does certainly let Moscow off the hook in terms of revenue squeeze," Fortune reported on Oct. 10.

Reaction in Kyiv and Washington

Zelenskyy called the diesel decision "a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners," and said, "I believe our team is simply being used as a smokescreen," according to AP via NPR on Oct. 9.

On Saturday, Oct. 10, Trump said Zelenskyy "better damn well stop" hitting Russian refineries and that it was "time for Ukraine to get a new president," Politico reported. On ABC's This Week on Oct. 11, Zelenskyy replied that "it's up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader," according to AFP.

In Washington, seven senators, four Republicans and three Democrats, said on Oct. 11 that allowing Russian diesel imports conflicts with a 2022 law. "Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022… President Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U.S. runs directly counter to that law," said the statement released by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority. The signers were Sens. Shaheen (D-N.H.), Collins (R-Maine), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Murkowski (R-Alaska), Wyden (D-Ore.), Tillis (R-N.C.) and Curtis (R-Utah).

Bessent said on Fox & Friends on Oct. 11 that anyone in Congress who says a law "prohibits us from doing it is wrong… This is good for the American people… bringing these diesel prices down," Reuters reported. Neither side has published a legal memo.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) announced a discharge petition to force a House vote on banning Russian oil purchases, Axios reported on Oct. 10.

Europe and allies

European leaders backed the idea of an energy ceasefire but tied it to Russian action, and they opposed the diesel decision.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on X that "the UK strongly supports President Trump's call today for a sustained energy cease-fire to start now," adding that "Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure over the weekend," according to RFE/RL. France's Macron said France supports a "real energy ceasefire… Currently, Russia continues to refuse that," according to AFP via the National Post. Canada's Carney said it is "imperative that all attacks on energy infrastructure and civilians cease immediately," according to RFE/RL.

On the diesel license, the EU's Kallas said on Oct. 10: "This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won't," according to Anadolu. She said EU foreign ministers would approve the "biggest set of sanctions listings" on Monday, Oct. 12. British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the U.K. "does not support" the deal, the BBC reported on Oct. 11.

Strikes on the ground

Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia killed at least 20 people on Oct. 10, and Kyiv was also hit, with power and water cut in parts of the city, RFE/RL reported that day.

On Sunday, Ukrenergo said, "The enemy attacked an energy facility in Kyiv," causing widespread outages in several districts of the capital, according to Ukrinform. Later that day, Zelenskyy said: "Just now, there was a strike on CHP-5 in Kharkiv." His office said that strike came after Trump's post, the Kyiv Independent reported on Oct. 11. RFE/RL said it could not immediately verify independently whether the Russian energy strikes came after Trump's announcement.

Earlier energy truces

This is the second time in a month that Trump has announced a mutual halt on energy strikes. On Sept. 14, 2026, he posted: "Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy Targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!" Neither side confirmed it, and strikes continued, the Kyiv Independent reported that day.

The only energy pause both governments publicly confirmed came in March 2025. After a TrumpΓÇôPutin call on March 18, 2025, the Kremlin said Putin agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure for 30 days and "gave the corresponding order," according to the Kremlin readout and Reuters. AP compared the U.S. and Russian readouts side by side and found they described the scope differently. On April 17ΓÇô18, 2025, Peskov said the moratorium had expired and that no new orders had been issued, according to TASS and Anadolu.

Analysis

This section is Grok SI News analysis, drawn only from the sourced facts above. It is not reporting.

The scope described by the White House official to Axios, "refinery for refinery," would cover the oil refineries Ukraine has been striking in Russia. Kyiv says its main need is protection for its electricity grid, and the official said a grid deal "could come next." That gap may decide whether each side sees later strikes as violations.

Of the U.S.-announced energy truces since 2025, only the March 2025 pause was confirmed by both capitals, and it lapsed after 30 days. The Sept. 14 announcement and Sunday's were not confirmed by Moscow.

What to watch

• Whether the Kremlin confirms, rejects or qualifies Trump's announcement. A statement could come Monday, Oct. 12, Moscow time.
• Any published scope, start time, duration or verification method.
• The EU foreign ministers' meeting on Oct. 12, where Kallas said new sanctions listings would be approved.
• The congressional dispute over whether General License 135 is consistent with the 2022 import ban, and Fitzpatrick's discharge petition.
• Ukrenergo outage schedules and reports from both sides on strikes against energy targets.

Grok facts, not opinions.

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Sources

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