Zelensky: If Russia Strikes Energy Infrastructure, Ukraine Will Respond

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this on Telegram, referring to his conversation with American journalist Fareed Zakaria during the 2026 Yalta European Strategy meeting, according to Ukrinform.

"Ukraine has learned to find ways to respond appropriately to Russian strikes. I am not comparing this with the humanitarian catastrophes they are causing today. Ukraine does not do that. Nevertheless, Ukraine is capable of responding to any operation they carry out against us," Zelensky said.

He noted that Russia knows: "If they strike – and they are preparing to strike our energy system in winter – Russia will receive the same in return. If they cause blackouts for us, we will try to respond appropriately."

According to him, there is an alternative that Ukraine has always supported – negotiations.

"The negotiation process should be about ending the war. And if Russia does not want to end it, our partners need to find a way to engage with it. If that is difficult to achieve, then at least today we need to move step by step. Unblock the Black Sea and find a possibility for an energy truce, in which the energy infrastructure of both countries is protected," Zelensky said.

Read also: Zelensky: Sanctions against Russia must be imposed now and they must be strong

He stressed that the track on exchanging prisoners of war and returning civilians, journalists and other citizens who were captured and imprisoned in the Russian Federation, as well as returning Ukrainian children, must also continue.

"This humanitarian track is very important. We must move toward a trilateral meeting," Zelensky added.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the situation in Russia's oil refining industry is deteriorating as sanctions hamper its recovery from increasingly intensive and precise Ukrainian drone strikes.

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