WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate energy ceasefire, marking a historic diplomatic breakthrough achieved without the unnecessary bureaucratic burden of getting both countries to agree.
"Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" Trump declared, apparently addressing two governments still awaiting their copies of the agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose participation would ordinarily be considered helpful in a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, described the announcement as news to him. Moscow declined to confirm the agreement, citing the traditional Russian negotiating position of not having agreed to anything.
"The ceasefire is fully operational at the announcement level," explained a White House adviser. "We're now working through minor implementation details, including consent."
Officials praised the breakthrough as a revolutionary diplomatic model in which agreements are declared successful first, then negotiated afterward, eliminating the tedious uncertainty normally associated with diplomacy.
The arrangement would halt attacks on energy infrastructure while leaving the broader war intact, allowing both sides to continue killing each other without unnecessarily inconveniencing diesel markets.
Trump, facing rising American fuel prices, has also eased restrictions on Russian diesel, demonstrating Washington's innovative strategy of pressuring Moscow to end its war by helping it sell more oil.
The White House is reportedly considering applying the same approach to inflation, declaring prices 30% lower effective immediately and giving grocery stores until Friday to agree.
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