Russia, Ukraine exchange fresh allegations over energy truce breaches

Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Wednesday of violating a U.S.-brokered moratorium on attacks against energy infrastructure, raising fresh concerns over the durability of the limited truce agreed last month as a potential stepping stone toward a full ceasefire.

According to Russia's defence ministry, Ukrainian forces launched drone and shelling attacks in the western Kursk region that disrupted power to more than 1,500 households.

In a separate incident, a state gas company in the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Luhansk region reported that a Ukrainian drone strike on a gas distribution station left over 11,000 customers near the town of Svatove with limited access to gas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, contended that Russian forces were responsible for breaches of the energy truce. He said a Russian drone struck an energy substation in the Sumy region while artillery fire damaged a power line in Dnipropetrovsk, cutting electricity for nearly 4,000 consumers.

Both sides have indicated that they are sharing details of the alleged violations with the United States - a key mediator in brokering the truce. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed impatience with the slow progress toward ending the three-year conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defended the truce by noting that President Vladimir Putin’s agreement to the energy moratorium was a clear signal of his willingness to engage in a peace process, a view disputed by Kyiv and some of its European allies. Peskov also criticized what he described as “daily Ukrainian strikes” on Russian energy assets and affirmed that Moscow would continue working with American officials.

In response, President Zelenskyy accused Russia of breaking the energy truce and urged the United States to intensify sanctions against Moscow. He recalled that Ukraine had been willing to accept a full 30-day ceasefire last month, but that President Putin had declined the proposal amid concerns that Ukraine might use the respite to mobilize additional forces and secure more Western arms.

The latest exchange of accusations underscores the fragile state of the truce and the continuing challenges in achieving a lasting resolution to the conflict.

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