In the hours following an announcement that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a limited truce, Moscow and Kiev made accusations of ceasefire violations.
Russian Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky charged Ukrainian President Zelensky with attempting to sabotage the deal. “Kiev, having agreed in words to the energy ceasefire, continues to plan and carry out strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, trying to deceive both us and the United States in this way,” he told the UN Security Council. “It is absolutely clear that through such actions it is trying to derail any peace agreements and clearly demonstrates its lack of commitment.”
On Tuesday, a US-brokered agreement between Russia and Ukraine was announced. The limited ceasefire calls for the restoration of the Black Sea Initiative and halting attacks on energy infrastructure.
After the announcement, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters that Ukraine was continuing attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. “Despite all the discussions regarding the ceasefire, the Ukrainian side is so far still conducting attacks on our energy facilities, our energy infrastructure,” he said.
Kiev denied violating the agreement, with Ukraine’s General Staff saying “It should be highlighted that the military department of the aggressor country is spreading false and groundless accusations in order to prolong the war and continue its false propaganda and typical attempts to deceive the world.”
On Tuesday, Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn accused Russia of attacking Ukrainian energy sites since March 18. “They’ve been hitting our energy sites with bombs, attack drones, and FPV drones. We’re not going into all the details, but there have already been eight confirmed hits on energy facilities,” he wrote on X. “Every night our air defense forces shoot down nearly a hundred attack drones – and many of those drones were likely targeting other energy facilities.”
It is unclear if any of the strikes Lytvyn is referring to happened after the ceasefire was implemented on Tuesday, the day Zelensky said the truce was set to begin.
However, Zelensky did accuse the Kremlin of attempting to manipulate the agreement during his nightly video address on Tuesday: “Unfortunately, right now, right today, right on the day of the talks, we see how the Russians have already started to manipulate.” He continued, “They are already trying to distort the agreements and actually deceive our mediators and the whole world.”
Following the rollout of the agreement, Zelensky said that if Moscow violated the truce, Washington should send additional arms to Ukraine and place new sanctions on Russia.
While the ceasefire appears to be on shaky ground, Polyansky said the limited truce presented a chance to end the war. “Today, thanks to the efforts of the presidents of Russia and the United States, there is a real chance that this settlement will be diplomatic and that tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives of ordinary Ukrainians will be saved. Of course, the military scenario remains on the table,” he told the UNSC. “And we are also ready for its implementation. But we prefer peace and diplomacy.”
