Zelensky seeks 60-day ceasefire after Trump claim

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a 60-day total ceasefire for elections on Sunday after Donald Trump announced an immediate energy ceasefire with Russia, the Mirror reported in an Oct. 11 news article.

The dispute matters because Trump presented the energy pause as agreed by “both sides,” while Zelensky said Ukraine would accept only if Russia did. A separate diesel arrangement described in the source totals 4.8 million tonnes, with an initial 1.8 million tonnes equal to 37.5% of the combined volume, according to Atlas360 calculations.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine had signed an “energy ceasefire” and warned: “Do not break it!” Zelensky told Axios the announcement “was news for me” and added: “If Russians agree to an energy ceasefire, Ukraine will agree.”

Zelensky also wrote on X that Ukraine supported the ceasefire and was “awaiting details from the American side.” Russia had not commented on Trump’s announcement at the time of publication.

The source said the announcement followed several days of White House pressure on Kyiv to limit drone strikes on Russian oil targets. It also described Trump as announcing a diesel deal with Putin involving 1.8 million tonnes and a further order of 3 million tonnes, with a claimed value of $4.5 billion (£3.3 billion).

Zelensky raised the issue during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finland’s Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He separately responded to Trump’s statement that it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

“Give us two months, 60 days off. Total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukrainians would choose their leader.

Source: news article, Mirror, Oct. 11