Ukraine War · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Will De-Escalate With Russia If Trump Secures Real Readiness
Zelenskyy says ready to de-escalate if Russia reciprocates and US guarantees genuine readiness. Trump claims Ukraine and Russia agreed to halt energy strikes; Kyiv remains skeptical.
Whether Trump’s announced halt on strikes implies Ukraine’s formal endorsement.
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Global Banking & Finance Review
“Zelenskiy posted comments earlier on social media that amounted to a denial that Ukraine had formally endorsed Trump's statement”Read the original ↗
POLITICO.eu
“cold water on his American counterpart Donald Trump's claim that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to halt strikes”Read the original ↗
Some outlets stress Ukraine disputes Trump’s claim of agreement, not just details.
Conditional de-escalation
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to de-escalate the war with Russia if Russia reciprocated, after US President Donald Trump announced that the foes had agreed to end strikes on energy targets.
“If this can become the first de-escalatory step -- stopping Russian strikes on our critical infrastructure, and ours in response -- then Ukraine is ready to support de-escalation.”
Zelenskyy said in his daily address that “If this can become the first de-escalatory step -- stopping Russian strikes on our critical infrastructure, and ours in response -- then Ukraine is ready to support de-escalation.”
He added that “so far no one has seen any genuine desire from Russia to move toward ending the war,” and said Ukraine would take its own de-escalatory steps only if American partners could secure “a real readiness from Russia to stop this war of destroying lives.”
Zelenskyy also highlighted “a strong proposal from the United States regarding a mutual halt to strikes on critical infrastructure,” while Trump had at the weekend criticized Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries for contributing to a shortage of diesel fuel.
The TRT World account said Russia made no immediate comment to Trump’s announcement, as international oil prices climbed again.
Trump’s claim vs Kyiv
Trump said on Monday that “Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!” while Zelenskyy publicly framed the proposal as conditional on guarantees.
In a Reuters dateline from Kyiv, Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv was ready to support a U.S. proposal for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire on energy sites only if Washington could ensure Moscow was genuinely ready to end its war on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy posted comments earlier on social media that amounted to a denial that Ukraine had formally endorsed Trump’s statement that both sides had agreed to halt attacks, and he said Ukraine was not convinced that Russia was willing to abide by any agreement.
POLITICO.eu reported Zelenskyy wrote on X that “Ukraine is not confident that Russia has any intention of adhering to any agreement,” and said Kyiv would stop only on a reciprocal basis.P
The same POLITICO.eu account said the Kremlin had not issued comments on Trump’s announcement yet, while its spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Trump’s call for Kyiv to stop attacks on “peaceful economic infrastructure” but refused to say whether Russia would stop bombing Ukraine’s infrastructure.P
Rail strikes and next steps
Beyond energy targets, the sources tied the de-escalation push to a worsening pattern of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s rail network, with the CEO of the state Ukrainian Railways operator telling AFP that the attacks were “growing exponentially.”
“It's growing exponentially. Each month, each week is generally worse than the previous one,”
Oleksandr Pertsovsky said, “It's growing exponentially. Each month, each week is generally worse than the previous one,” after a strike hit a train frequently used by diplomats near the Polish border at the weekend.
France 24 reported Zelenskyy warned that intensifying Russian strikes on Ukraine’s rail network are worsening each week, as NATO-member Poland said on Sunday that Russia hit a train about two kilometres from the Polish-Ukraine border.
The TRT World account also said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on Sunday that Warsaw had obtained information that Moscow might be planning attacks on border crossings.
In the same TRT World report, Zelenskyy’s push for de-escalation was paired with stepped-up calls for allies to provide more anti-missile defences as Russia intensifies its attacks, while US envoys went to Moscow and Kiev earlier this month without announcing a breakthrough.