Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of attacking two oil refineries in breach of the “energy ceasefire” declared by US President Donald Trump, a claim Kyiv dismissed as “fake”.
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“Two oil refineries were attacked today by the Kyiv regime, in the Saratov and Ryazan regions,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Alexander Novak was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
“We see that the Ukrainian side does not demonstrate movement towards an energy truce,” Novak said.
Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the claim was “fake”, adding that other sites had been hit “but the refineries were not”.
The row came as Kyiv dealt with the aftermath of an overnight Russian attack that killed at least one person and injured more than 20 others. A large fire broke out in a residential building after it came under Russian shelling.
The strikes targeted a key power plant in the city, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy noted that the Darnytska CHP-4 plant, which supplies the capital with heating and electricity, was targeted by a ballistic missile.
The attack comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, halting attacks on energy targets.
Since then, the Kremlin’s nightly attacks have nevertheless continued to target energy sites, according to Zelenskyy.
What ‘energy ceasefire’?
The attacks also come at a dire time for Ukraine, currently grappling with a crisis which has seen more than 600,000 people lose power in various strikes on energy grids.
“Energy facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region have come under a massive ballistic missile strike. There are power disruptions in the capital,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian President accused Moscow of disrespecting US President Donald Trump and his “energy ceasefire”.
“The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale –- Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States”, Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Meanwhile Russia said it had shot down 900 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 180 near Moscow.
Zelenskyy has previously noted that Ukraine is prepared to abide by Trump’s truce if Russia reciprocates, a plea the Kremlin did not acknowledge.
Additional sources • AP, AFP
