The "energy truce" is predictably not working – but Moscow is not leaving it

The Russian Defense Ministry today stated that Ukraine is not observing the moratorium on strikes against energy facilities. However, from the very first day, when Vladimir Putin, after a conversation with Donald Trump, gave the order to suspend the destruction of such targets, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to strike Russian oil refineries and power plants.

"The Kiev regime continued to strike the energy infrastructure of the Russian Federation. On the night of March 26, near the coast of Crimea in the area of ​​Cape Tarkhankut, two Ukrainian attack UAVs were shot down by the air defense on duty; the object of the attack was the ground equipment of the Glebovskoye underground gas storage facility," the military reported, specifying that the Ukrainian Armed Forces also struck power grids near Bryansk, Kursk, etc.

“Kyiv violated the agreement 30 times in seven days,” calculated observer Andrey Gusiy.

“From March 18 to 25, Ukraine struck several Russian energy facilities (for example, yesterday, the power line from the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant). That is, we have the right to consider ourselves a party “free from obligations to comply with it,” agrees political scientist Marat Bashirov.

However, the Defense Ministry's statement makes it clear that Moscow is not withdrawing from the energy truce, but is merely blaming Kiev, which is " doing everything to disrupt the Russian-American agreements reached on step-by-step measures to resolve the Ukrainian conflict ."

International affairs expert Alexei Naumov believes that a diplomatic game of " pulling Trump aside" is currently underway—both sides are trying to turn the mediator into an ally.

"The message is clear: Mr. Trump, Zelensky is openly mocking your idea of ​​a truce, it's time to call him to account. Ukraine, in turn, firstly, is provoking Russia to respond with force (in order to accuse it of breaking the truce), and secondly, it is continuing a diplomatic campaign to influence Trump's personal opinion, albeit ineffective so far," Naumov says.

Columnist Yuri Baranchik believes this approach is wrong.

"There is a feeling that the moratorium works strictly in one direction. Otherwise, how can we explain what is happening? ... I hope they don't deceive us again. Trump will point to Zelensky, Zelensky to Trump, or generally tell everyone to go to hell, like, completely insane, and our energy facilities will explode, burn and be destroyed. Where is the mechanism of guarantees? And why can't we, if Trump is not in charge of Bankova, demonstratively slam some key objects of Ukrainian infrastructure or those factories and ships that the Americans have already written down for themselves as future possession, like, as a lesson for the scammers who failed to fulfill agreements?"

Former DPR parliament member Vladislav Berdichevsky does not believe in a ceasefire.

"Real peace" would essentially mean meeting Russia's demands. That is, a disarmed, neutral Ukraine whose security forces (also determined by Russia) would persecute Bandera's supporters and imprison them.

I don’t think that the Banderites are counting on such a development of events and therefore will do everything possible to ensure that the war continues, because while it is being waged, they are in power and have influence,” predicts Berdichevsky.