The Trump administration is threatening to stop the procurement system that provides Ukraine with weapons to press Kyiv to halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, according to officials in Europe.
The officials, who received calls from American officials on Saturday and Sunday or were briefed on them, said the US was lobbying European capitals and Kyiv in an attempt to end the attacks· on Russian oil refineries. The White House declined to confirm or comment on the calls.
The US message, the officials added, included threats to cut off intelligence sharing and Purl — the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List mechanism for procuring US weapons for Ukraine.
“They are calling Kyiv . . . they are calling everyone [in Europe],” said an official who received a call from a US defence official.
Purl is a Nato-managed initiative through which Kyiv’s allies purchase US-made weapons that are then supplied to Ukraine. The US does not make a financial contribution to the fund.
One person who said he was contacted by US officials was Pavlo Palisa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s military adviser and former commander of the country’s 93rd mechanised brigade.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday surprised Kyiv and the Europeans, whom his administration had sought to pressure, when he announced on social media that Ukraine and Russia had reached a ceasefire to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, on Monday welcomed the energy ceasefire but added: “We haven’t seen it holding so far.”
Moments after Trump posted his statement, a senior Ukrainian official close to Zelenskyy told the FT: “Just now our repair teams are restoring electricity and water supplies in Kyiv [after Russian strikes]. Nobody has heard [of the ceasefire].”
But Zelenskyy said on Sunday evening that Trump’s announcement of an energy ceasefire was “good news for everyone — and it is important that it becomes reality”.
“Unfortunately, Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian ‘shahed’ [drones] all day today,” he said. “There have been glide-bomb strikes and strikes on our energy infrastructure too. A power plant in Kharkiv was attacked this evening.
“Ukraine has proposed many de-escalatory steps. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin had one answer to all of them — ‘nyet’ [‘no’],” Zelenskyy added. “We do hope that he will finally say something to America, Ukraine, and the entire world that will lead to a real and dignified peace . . . and we expect Putin to follow through on what President Trump said.”
It was not immediately clear whether Russia had agreed to Trump’s deal.
The White House also declined to say whether Trump would heed Zelenskyy’s proposal to force Putin to accept a total ceasefire for 60 days so that Ukraine could hold elections.
In response to Trump’s weekend demand for elections to replace Zelenskyy, Kallas called for the US to instead use sanctions to force Russia to end the conflict.
“If the pressure is put on Russia so that they will stop this war, I am sure that they will have elections,” she said.