Zelensky says Ukraine is ready for ‘de-escalatory steps’ if Russia does the same

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine was ready to de-escalate the Russia" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="187098" data-entity-type="event">war with Russia if its rival did the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that the foes had agreed to end strikes on energy targets.With international oil prices climbing again, Trump had at the weekend berated Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, blaming them for causing a shortage in diesel fuel.In one of his surprise social media posts, the US leader announced on Monday that “Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!”Russia made no immediate comment. But in his daily address, Zelensky highlighted “a strong proposal from the United States regarding a mutual halt to strikes on critical infrastructure”.He added: “If this can become the first de-escalatory step – stopping Russian strikes on our critical infrastructure, and ours in response – then Ukraine is ready to support de-escalation.”Zelensky said “we see that the Russians are feeling pressure because of our precise responses against Russia’s war economy”.He noted that “so far no one has seen any genuine desire from Russia to move toward ending the war”.