Just hours after President Trump's announcement, a Shahed drone slammed into a power plant in Kyiv, knocking out electricity across districts of the capital. Then came the strike on Kharkiv's CHP-5 — hit at least twice and set ablaze. "Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian 'shaheds' all day today," Zelenskyy said in his evening address, alongside glide-bomb strikes on energy infrastructure.
The part people keep missing: Zelenskyy gave Trump's move the benefit of the doubt. The announcement caught Kyiv off guard — Zelenskyy said it was "news for me" — but he backed it publicly anyway, calling it "good news for everyone." He told Canada's Mark Carney, Finland's Alexander Stubb, and NATO's Mark Rutte that Ukraine would honor the deal. He ordered Ukraine's armed forces to stand ready to stop striking Russian energy. And he put Putin on the spot: "we expect Putin to follow through on what President Trump said."
Putin's answer came in the form of drones and glide bombs. Zelenskyy's verdict was plain: "Ukraine wants peace. The question is whether Russia does." He noted Ukraine has proposed many de-escalatory steps and Putin's answer to all of them was "nyet" — adding that he hopes Putin "will finally say something different to America, Ukraine, and the entire world."
This is the part the critics keep skipping. The people who mocked Trump's announcement as fantasy missed what Zelenskyy understood: the announcement was a test, and Zelenskyy took it seriously so the whole world could see the result. Ukraine held up its end. Russia answered with fire. Nobody has to guess anymore who the obstacle to peace is.
Trump's announcement came Sunday morning on Truth Social: "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" Moscow never confirmed it — Ukrainian officials said they learned of the deal from social media. The terms were never spelled out: what counts as energy infrastructure, who monitors violations, what happens when the deal is broken.
The backdrop is tense. Two days earlier, Trump announced a deal to buy more than 300,000 tons of Russian diesel while easing sanctions, drawing fury from Kyiv, European allies, and seven U.S. senators who demanded an immediate reversal. Trump has blamed Ukraine's refinery strikes for soaring U.S. diesel prices and said Ukraine needs a new president. Zelenskyy answered that leadership is "up to our people" — and offered to hold elections if Putin agrees to a 60-day total ceasefire.
The energy ceasefire stands as announced. Whether it becomes real now rests with Moscow — and after Sunday, the world has a clear picture of what Putin does with peace offers.
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