Zelenskyy Seeks US Response to Russian Energy Strike

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russian artillery damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the frontline city of Kherson, two days after the U.S. announced that each side had agreed to a truce on energy strikes.

"Two days ago, there was a night when there were no strikes on the energy sector," Zelenskyy said in Paris after a summit of Ukraine's allies. "Today, energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson was damaged by Russian artillery. I believe that the U.S. should respond with actions."

The U.S. announced separate agreements with Kyiv and Moscow on Tuesday to pause attacks in the Black Sea and against each other's energy installations, the first such deal since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

"Our side, as long as no one understands who is monitoring what ..., all this [evidence] will be prepared and transferred to the U.S., and after that we are waiting for America's reaction, since they told us that they will respond to violations," Zelenskiy said.

Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said work was continuing to restore power to consumers who had been left without it as a result of Russian shelling.

Moscow accused Kyiv on Wednesday of using drones to attack energy facilities in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk regions, and in the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

The Ukrainian military denied those accusations.

"The [Russian] military continues to produce fakes, seeking to make baseless accusations against Ukraine and prolong the war," the military said in a statement on the Telegram app.

Russia, which launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and now holds about 20% of the country, contends that it has observed an energy strike truce since March 18. Ukraine said Russia has attacked eight Ukrainian energy facilities since then.

Zelenskyy also said in Paris he believed the Trump administration's stance toward Russia should be tougher, adding Ukraine needed the administration's help to be strong in negotiations.