Kremlin welcomes Trump's energy ceasefire proposal as Ukraine fighting intensifies

Moscow's top spokesman sat down on Tuesday and called Donald Trump's proposal for an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine "a very good idea overall." Dmitry Peskov's words seemed to signal openness—but the conditions attached to them told a different story. Russia would consider halting attacks on Ukrainian power plants and refineries, Peskov said, but only if Ukraine stopped hitting Russian oil facilities and only if Moscow could export its crude without interference. He added that Russia would need guarantees of safe passage for oil tankers and would remain in contact with Washington on the matter. The statement was careful, measured, and left the door conspicuously ajar.

Trump had announced the proposal on social media Monday evening, claiming both sides had already "agreed" not to strike energy targets. The framing was bolder than the reality. Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, had been more cautious in his response, describing the American proposal as a "strong" one and saying Ukraine would support a "mutual halt" to strikes on critical infrastructure—but only as a first step toward something larger. "If this can become the first de-escalatory step, a step toward ending Russian strikes on our critical infrastructure and our strikes in response, then Ukraine is ready to support de-escalation," he said in his evening address. He made clear, though, that Ukraine would move only if Russia showed genuine commitment to ending the war itself, not just pausing one form of attack.

While diplomats spoke in measured tones, the fighting never stopped. Overnight, Russia launched 200 drones at Ukrainian cities. Two people were killed—one in Kyiv, the capital, another in Zaporizhzhia to the south. The strikes hit petrol stations in Kyiv and damaged energy infrastructure and port facilities across multiple regions. Zelenskyy responded by announcing that Ukraine had struck an oil refinery in Syzran, in Russia's Samara region along the Volga River, and had hit drone production facilities in the Taganrog and Oryol regions. "Russia continues to attack our energy sector, regular logistics and critical infrastructure," he posted. "Our responses to them for this are tangible."

On the ground in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces reported progress in their own right. Over several days of fighting north of the town of Lyman in Donetsk, Ukrainian troops said they had liberated more than ten square kilometers of occupied territory and cleared a further seventy-five square kilometers that Russian forces had infiltrated. The offensive was designed to relieve pressure on the nearby cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which sit within Ukraine's fortified defensive belt and have been under sustained Russian pressure.

Meanwhile, Russia turned its attention to a different security concern: a French initiative to extend Europe's nuclear deterrent. France, the only nuclear power in the European Union, had proposed allowing allied countries to temporarily host French nuclear-armed aircraft on their soil, strengthening Europe's independent nuclear capability while keeping Paris in control of the arsenal and the final decision on its use. Ten countries had already joined—Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, whose own nuclear forces depend heavily on American technical support. Finland became the tenth this week. Estonia was in discussions about joining as well.

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the French plan "reckless," saying it created risks for Moscow and that Russia would need to monitor it closely. The criticism underscored a deeper anxiety: as diplomatic channels opened on one front, Europe was quietly moving to strengthen its military independence on another, a shift that Moscow viewed with undisguised alarm. The ceasefire proposal and the nuclear initiative were moving in opposite directions—one toward de-escalation, the other toward deeper entrenchment—and neither side seemed willing to abandon either path.