**US-Brokered Energy Ceasefire Fails to Deliver in Ukraine**
A partial ceasefire on energy strikes, negotiated by the US with Moscow and Kyiv last month, has failed to bring lasting results. The truce was supposed to reduce attacks on key energy infrastructure in Ukraine, but instead, Russia continued to target facilities that were supposedly off-limits.
**30 Russian Attacks Since March 25**
Since March 25, Ukrainian officials have recorded over thirty Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Eight more attacks were reported between March 18-25, despite the partial ceasefire agreement reached during a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The attacks mostly affected local power generating facilities, electricity substations, transformers, and gas distribution networks.
**No Damage to Key Infrastructure**
While no major damage was recorded to key energy infrastructure in Ukraine, the strikes on secondary targets continued unabated. “There was no ceasefire at all,” said Oleksandr Kharchenko, managing director of the Kyiv-based Energy Industry Research Center. He added that electricity substations and gas infrastructure have been attacked constantly.
**Disorganized Negotiations**
Experts say that disorganized negotiations with US representatives and a lack of clear terms were major factors in the truce’s failure. The US did not employ satellite monitoring to verify Russian compliance, leaving room for manipulation. The differing start dates of the ceasefire – March 24 for Russia and March 25 for Ukraine – further muddled the situation.
**Russian Propaganda**
The failed energy truce has been used by Russia as a propaganda tool to claim that they are respecting agreements while Ukraine is not. “It served perfectly for Russian propaganda,” said Mykhailo Minenko, a Ukrainian military expert. “They made an effort to claim that Russia was abiding by the agreement, and Ukraine ignored it.”
**Easter Truce Violations**
A week after the failed energy truce, Putin announced an Easter truce designed to halt all military action from April 19-21. However, this too was widely flouted by Russian forces, with at least three civilians killed in attacks and over 3,000 ceasefire violations reported.
**Ukrainian President Calls for Extended Ceasefire**
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an extension of the Easter truce to 30 days, citing long-range drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure. The US also supports this move, hoping it could give peace a chance.
As Natalia Yermak notes in her note from the author, “There’s no one who wants peace more than Ukrainians… which makes it important for us to report what, and who, stands in the way of lasting peace.”
