US President ‌Donald Trump has made a surprise announcement of an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, but Volodymyr Zelensky admits he’s been left in the dark.

There has been no word from Moscow ‌on the ceasefire announcement, which followed days of intense pressure from Trump for Ukraine to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries.

He blames those strikes for a rise in diesel prices that is hurting his Republican Party ahead of America’s November midterm elections.

Trump on Saturday warned the Ukraine president he had “better damn well stop” attacking Russian refineries, and urged Ukrainians to replace their leader at new elections.

Trump said Zelensky had missed several opportunities to strike a deal with Moscow.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump unexpectedly announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an energy ceasefire, but did not elaborate further.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote.

Trump, whose war in Iran has been widely blamed for hiking global fuel prices, also previously announced an energy ceasefire in Ukraine in mid-September. Neither side confirmed any such agreement.

A person familiar ‌with the situation said the US ⁠had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine as well as weapons procurement under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List system, as it pressed Kyiv to halt strikes ​on Russian energy sites.

The person said Zelensky was speaking to European leaders about de-escalating the situation with Trump.

Zelensky told Axios that Trump’s post was the first he had heard of the ‌deal.

He said he had discussed Trump’s ceasefire announcement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

“Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well. We are awaiting details from the American side,” he said on Telegram.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said Russian forces were still launching air attacks on energy infrastructure, including a strike on a joint heating and power plant in Kharkiv.

Hours earlier, Zelensky had pushed back against US pressure for a unilateral end to Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, repeating ‌his long-standing position that he ​was willing to do so only if President Vladimir Putin suspended Russian strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure.

Trump also called for elections in Ukraine, to which Zelensky responded that he would call a vote if ​Putin agreed to ‌a 60-day ceasefire.

The Ukrainian leader rejected the suggestion he was to blame for energy price rises, adding that “everybody in the world” knew that the war in the Middle East was a bigger factor.

-AAP