There's no direct agreements with Moscow regarding halting attacks on energy sector – Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasised that there are no direct agreements between Kyiv and Moscow on stopping Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector, but talks on this issue are ongoing, including in Abu Dhabi. He has also stressed that Ukraine will respond in kind to Russia's actions.

Source: Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists

Quote: "There has been no direct dialogue and no direct agreements on this matter between us and Russia."

Details: Speaking about the cessation of Russian attacks on the energy sector, the president recalled that this issue was raised in Abu Dhabi.

"Various issues were discussed at the meeting in Abu Dhabi, the most sensitive ones. The American side also spoke with us separately. I do not know whether they spoke with Russia – most likely, they did. The Americans said they want to raise the issue of de-escalation, with both sides demonstrating certain steps toward refraining from the use of long-range capabilities in order to create more space for diplomacy," Zelenskyy said.

He reiterated that Ukraine supports any initiatives for de-escalation, and Kyiv has consistently demonstrated this since last year's meetings in Saudi Arabia regarding ceasefire.

"At that time, we were ready for it. The American side wanted this as well. We then chose this format of work: to support all genuine de-escalation steps and to demonstrate this consistently – so that no one could accuse us of slowing down the process toward peace or obstructing initiatives of the United States. However, at that time, Russia's responses to such de-escalation steps were negative. We will see how it unfolds now," the president said.

He added that if Russia continues to attack Ukraine, in particular to destroy its energy infrastructure, Kyiv will respond in kind and also try to strike facilities involved in servicing the Russian military machine.

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