EU top diplomat says will welcome Ukraine energy truce ‘when it holds’

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed her support for a truce on energy infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia, stating that the bloc would welcome such a truce when it holds. However, Kallas emphasized that the truce needed to cover more than just oil refineries, as Ukraine has one while Russia has many. The statement came after US President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between the two nations, causing confusion in Kyiv and silence from Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported multiple power plant strikes by Russia, resulting in power outages and widespread outrage. Western supporters of Ukraine, including Australia, backed the calls for a genuine ceasefire but urged Moscow to end its unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Trump's announcement, made two days after easing US sanctions on Russian diesel, sparked outrage among European allies and Kyiv.

Kallas urged the US to instead increase sanctions on Moscow, and EU ministers planned to add around 1,600 individuals and entities to their sanctions blacklist over the war on Ukraine, focusing on the Russian military and arms industry.