Kyiv Backs U.S. Plan for Mutual Halt on Infrastructure Strikes If Russia Stops Attacks
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is ready to support a U.S. proposal for a mutual halt to strikes on critical infrastructure if partners can ensure Russia genuinely stops attacking Ukraine’s energy system and food routes, while the Financial Times reports no final deal exists despite Donald Trump’s claim of an agreement.
Ukraine is weighing a potential shift in how the war is fought: putting critical infrastructure off limits, if Russia does the same. President Volodymyr Zelensky says there is a strong proposal from the United States for a mutual cessation of strikes on critical infrastructure and that Ukraine is prepared to support it—on strict conditions.
Zelensky’s position is that Kyiv will halt its own strikes on Russian targets of this type only if partners can ensure Russia genuinely stops hitting Ukrainian electricity infrastructure, energy facilities, critical infrastructure more broadly and food transportation routes. He frames the proposal as a possible first step toward de‑escalation but stresses that Ukraine needs a real and long‑term change in Russian behaviour.
That contrasts with Donald Trump’s assertion that Russia and Ukraine had already agreed to stop strikes on energy infrastructure. According to the Financial Times, people familiar with the talks say that any arrangement is still being developed and that no final agreement has been reached. The paper describes Trump’s claim as premature.
For Ukrainians, the debate is not abstract. Repeated Russian attacks have turned the power grid and other civilian systems into battlefields, with knock‑on effects for heating, hospitals and food exports. A credible halt to such strikes could ease pressure on basic services, but Ukrainian leaders are wary of restraining their own options if Russia continues its campaign.
Warnings from U.S. intelligence underline that concern. After what Ukrainian sources describe as two days of large‑scale Russian drone strikes—more than 1,300 drones in total—Russian forces reportedly went quiet on 14 September. U.S. intelligence, however, is said to expect eight massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to begin on 15 September, with Kyiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia bracing for possible ballistic missile attacks.
A mutual halt on infrastructure strikes would narrow Russia’s ability to use damage to the power grid and food export routes as leverage, while also limiting Ukraine’s growing capacity to hit fuel depots and other facilities inside Russia. That’s why Zelensky insists that any arrangement must be enforceable and must apply to energy, food corridors and other critical infrastructure, not just a narrow set of assets.
The next steps to watch are whether Russia actually reduces or intensifies attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in the coming days, whether Washington chooses to spell out its proposal publicly, and how European governments respond. A clear drop in strikes on energy and food routes would suggest momentum for a deal; another wave of mass attacks would strengthen arguments in Kyiv that any truce on infrastructure would be one‑sided.
Sources
- OSINT