Ukraine and Russia accused one another on Wednesday of flouting a truce on energy strikes brokered by the United States, and conditions set by Russia cast doubt over a planned ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Recall that the United States announced separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday to pause their strikes in the Black Sea and against each other's energy targets but the rhetoric from Moscow and Kyiv suggested they remained far apart.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US side told Kyiv the deals were effective as soon as they were announced.
However, the Kremlin said the Black Sea one would not enter force until a sanctioned Russian state bank was reconnected to the international payment system, a step that Europe said would not happen until a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin contends it has already been implementing a pause on energy attacks since March 18, though a senior Ukrainian presidential official said Russia had attacked eight Ukrainian energy facilities since that date.
DAILY POST reports that the agreements, on paper, are a tangible step towards a ceasefire after Russia launched its 2022 invasion, unleashing the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two that rages on along a 1,000-km front line.
The United States, led by Donald Trump, who wants a quick peace, on Tuesday published two separate joint statements with Moscow and Kyiv outlining the deals, but neither document set out a clear timeline for their implementation.
Overnight, Russia said it had taken down nine drones, including two over the Black Sea, adding that Ukraine tried to attack a gas storage facility in Russian-occupied Crimea and energy infrastructure in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk regions.
However, Ukraine said it conducted no such strikes.
Ukraine's military reported 117 Russian drone attacks overnight. Local officials said the city of Kryvyi Rih had been hit by the biggest drone attack it has faced yet.
Zelenskyy had called on the United States to further sanction Moscow, which he said was clearly not pursuing a real peace after the latest night of Russian drone attacks.
“Launching such large-scale attacks after ceasefire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace,” Zelenskiy wrote on X.
