Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are a breach of the US-mediated ceasefire, but Moscow will not be deterred from fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, according to Russian spokesperson Dmitri Peskow. The agreement, initiated by a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, prohibits attacks on such targets.
In the past two days, Ukraine has launched three separate attacks: one on a gas storage facility and two on parts of the national power grid, the Russian military reported on Wednesday. The latter two caused power outages.
At a press conference, Peskow confirmed Ukraine’s “inability to uphold the agreement” citing the incidents. Despite this, the Russian military has maintained the ceasefire.
Peskow emphasized the Kremlin’s adherence to the ceasefire and said it represented a step forward in improving bilateral relations between the US and Russia. He reminded journalists that Moscow had precisely identified the targets protected by the partial ceasefire, which were discussed during the Saudi Arabia talks earlier in the week.
Moscow officials suspect that Kiev is attempting to undermine Washington’s efforts to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire through its continued attacks on energy infrastructure. The Foreign Ministry had previously warned that Russia could withdraw from the agreement in response to Ukraine’s “provocations.”
The talks in Riyadh focused primarily on reviving the grain corridor in the Black Sea – a previous agreement that guaranteed the security of civilian transportation to and from Ukrainian ports. Russia had rejected an extension of the agreement in 2023, citing Ukraine’s misuse of the agreement for military purposes and the lack of restrictions on sanctions by the West to ease the export of food and fertilizers.