Putin 'Does Not Read Truth Social': Zelenskyy Jabs Trump After Russia Hits Kharkiv Despite Ceasefire Claim
Ukraine said it had learned of the supposed agreement from the media, while Moscow had not publicly confirmed it and attacks on energy infrastructure continued
Volodymyr Zelenskyy mocked Donald Trump's announcement of an 'energy ceasefire' between Russia and Ukraine, after Russian forces struck a power plant in Kharkiv hours after the post went up.
Trump announced on Truth Social on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure, effective immediately.
Kyiv said it learned of the supposed deal from the media, and Moscow had not publicly confirmed it. 'It was clear that Putin does not read Truth Social,' Zelenskyy said on Monday.
'Effective Immediately'
Trump made the announcement on Sunday, 11 October 2026. 'Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed,' he wrote.
He gave no details on how the agreement was reached or how it would be monitored. Moscow did not immediately comment, PBS NewsHour reported, and a senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv had no information about the deal.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would observe a reciprocal halt. 'We are ready, and we will accept it,' he told Axios, according to the Kyiv Independent. He also asked Trump for clarity, saying: 'Please tell us when the ceasefire begins.'
A Power Plant Hit Within Hours
Russian attacks continued that evening. 'Just now, there was a strike on CHP-5 in Kharkiv,' Zelenskyy said, according to the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian officials said the strike on the combined heat and power plant came after Trump's post.
Hours later, Russian forces hit a neighbourhood in Kharkiv including a power plant, CBS Evening News reported.
Zelenskyy said Russia was also hitting energy infrastructure in Kyiv. Large parts of the capital were without electricity and water when Trump made his announcement, Euronews reported. Overnight into Monday, Zelenskyy said, Russia struck a Ukrainian gas production facility and a petrol station.
In the week before the announcement, according to figures Zelenskyy gave, Russia had carried out more than 200 strikes on Ukraine's electricity generation and transmission facilities and 17 on gas and oil sites, killing more than 150 people and wounding more than 700.
'Not Just on Truth Social'
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday 12 October, Zelenskyy delivered his rebuke. 'It was clear that Putin does not read Truth Social,' he said, Euronews reported.
The forum is an annual conference that brings together defence and security officials, diplomats, and analysts in Poland's capital. He urged that ceasefires be implemented 'in reality, not just on Truth Social', and said Kyiv had learned of the supposed deal from the media. He added that he had seen no public endorsement of the ceasefire from Russia.
Zelenskyy said Putin had answered Ukraine's de-escalation proposals with 'nyet'. He also said Ukraine could hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire, responding to Trump's remarks on Saturday that Ukraine needed a new president.
Ukraine has not held a presidential election since the full-scale invasion began, as martial law bars votes during wartime.
Not the First Announcement
Energy truces have collapsed before. In March 2025, following a telephone call with Trump, Putin agreed to a limited 30-day pause in attacks on Ukrainian energy targets, Al Jazeera reported at the time. Ukraine also said it supported a halt, but both sides later accused each other of violating it.
Sunday's post was not Trump's first attempt to declare a halt to energy strikes. On 14 September, he said both sides had agreed not to hit each other's energy infrastructure. The Financial Times reported at the time that Moscow had not agreed to any such deal, Meduza noted. The strikes continued.
Ukraine has also carried out attacks on Russian infrastructure. A Ukrainian drone attack damaged and shut down a Yandex data centre in Russia's Vladimir region on Sunday, the third reported attack on the company's facilities in several days, after strikes on sites in the Ryazan region on Thursday and the Kaluga region on Friday.
The Ryazan strike was followed by widespread internet outages across Russia, with Moscow and St Petersburg hit hardest, United24 reported. Officials in Russia's Bryansk region said a Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday killed one man and wounded two women.
The fighting has remained deadly in recent days. A Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia on Saturday 10 October killed 20 people, including four children, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, which completed search and rescue work on Sunday. Earlier reports had put the toll at 23.
The announcement followed a separate agreement Trump struck with Putin on Friday 9 October to supply Russian diesel to US and global markets, aimed at bringing down fuel prices before the 3 November midterms. The US Treasury then issued a general licence authorising Russian diesel transactions until 7 April 2027.
By Monday, no public confirmation from the Kremlin had been reported that it had agreed to the energy ceasefire Trump described. Zelenskyy's message in Warsaw was that a ceasefire would count only once Russian missiles and drones stopped hitting Ukraine's power plants.
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