After weeks of targeted bombardment following a faltering in the Nato alliance, Russia has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on all Ukraine energy facilities and infrastructure.
In a post on the Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump wrote, “We agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all energy [sites] and infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a complete ceasefire.”
The energy ceasefire naturally applies to both sides. Ukraine has been using long-range drones to attack key Russian targets.
Olga Khakova, Deputy Director for European Energy Security at the Global Energy Center, said Russia has already destroyed more than half of Ukraine’s generation capacity and half of its natural gas production capabilities.
Even as talks continue, Washington will need to watch for violations of the existing agreement.
“If Russia does attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure then the US must showcase strength by forcing Russia to the table through additional export controls and sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas and on its financial system,” said Khakova.
Ukraine is scrambling to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies in a bid to boost its energy security.
Yesterday Ukraine national oil and gas company Naftogaz signed a contract with Orlen, one of the largest oil industry corporations in Central and Eastern Europe, for the supply of an additional 100 million cubic metres (cbm) of LNG, which followed another agreement signed earlier this month for a similar volume.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK took delivery of its first cargo of LNG from the US in January.
Ukraine’s energy system has been regularly targeted by Russia since its full-scale invasion in early 2022, with attacks intensifying since the spring of 2024. Transit and interconnector agreements between Ukraine and Gazprom expired at the end of 2024, with flows stopping in January.
The expiry of the transit arrangements for Russian gas through Ukraine creates significant uncertainty for gas deliveries to the region of Transnistria and for Moldova’s electricity security.
Moldova retains a strong indirect reliance on Russia because it receives around two-thirds of its electricity from a large power plant based in the Transnistrian region.
