Trump’s “energy ceasefire” falters as Kyiv says Russia keeps striking and the Kremlin rejects a 60-day truce
After Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy sites continued, according to the Financial Times, AP, ABC and the Guardian. ABC quoted him saying Kyiv would stop hitting Russian oil targets only if Moscow stopped striking key infrastructure. Reuters reported that the Kremlin rejected a 60-day ceasefire in favour of an overall peace deal. A FinancialJuice headline quoted the Kremlin saying contacts on the energy truce were ongoing, which we have from one aggregator only. Reuters also reported nearly 1,600 new EU sanctions listings against Russia and a Republican senator’s warning that the diesel deal may be illegal.
The truce was pitched as a way to bring down fuel prices. If it fails, diesel and petrol stay high, and Ukraine’s refinery strikes remain a lever in peace talks. It also tests how much weight Washington will put on Moscow rather than Kyiv.
Fuel costs feed straight into freight and grocery prices, so a collapse of the truce would keep pressure on pump prices here. Australia has also been part of Western sanctions and aid to Ukraine, so a shift in US policy matters to Canberra.
A partial truce on energy targets is better than none: it protects civilians in winter and could open the way to wider talks.
A truce that Russia ignores, announced before the other side has agreed, rewards Moscow and pressures the victim to stop defending itself.
Look for what Moscow actually does, not what Washington says. If strikes on Ukraine’s power stations stop for several days and Ukraine pauses refinery attacks, the truce is real; if not, it was an announcement. We will say “holds” only when two outlets confirm a pause on both sides.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 9 · Morning · TUE., OCT. 13, 2026