Russia broke energy strike pause promise on fourth day – Zelenskyy
Russia violated its promise to pause strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on the fourth day, ignoring a U.S. request, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy said the actual pause in attacks on energy facilities began overnight into Friday, January 30.
"And tonight, in our opinion, the Russians broke their promise. That is, either Russia now believes that a week is less than four days instead of seven, or they are really betting on war and simply waited for the coldest days of this winter, when temperatures across a significant part of Ukraine are below minus twenty degrees Celsius," the president stated.
The president described the latest Russian strike as clearly contradicting what the American side had arranged and as a strong indication of Russia’s intentions.
"We will be in contact with the American side regarding this matter. I expect that our partners will not remain silent about what is happening and will continue to support the defense of our country and our people," Zelenskyy added.
“Energy truce”
President Donald Trump stated on January 29 that he personally asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to halt strikes on Ukraine for one week due to severe cold, and Putin reportedly agreed.
Both Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels had earlier reported that military forces on both sides received orders to refrain from targeting energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said January 30 that the no-strike proposal came from the United States and that Ukraine was ready to reciprocate if Russia complied.
The Kremlin later said it had agreed to “refrain” from strikes on Ukraine at Trump’s request, but set February 1 as the end date for the arrangement.
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