Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to temporarily suspend strikes on energy facilities amid the ongoing war, the Kremlin said.
In a list shared on its Telegram channel, Kremlin included oil refineries, oil and gas pipelines, nuclear power stations, fuel storage facilities, pumping stations, electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, such as power plants, substations, transformers, distributors, and hydroelectric dams.
The Kremlin also said that the list had been “agreed between the Russian and American sides.”
“The temporary moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure starts from March 18 and is valid for 30 days, but it could be extended by mutual agreement. If the agreement is breached by one party, the other party is also released from compliance,” the Kremlin added.
This comes after the United States said that it had reached a tentative agreement for Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting and ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea in separate talks with both sides. However, many details were unresolved, and the Kremlin made the deal conditional on lifting some Western sanctions.
The announcement was made as the US wrapped up three days of talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on prospective steps toward a limited ceasefire.
While a comprehensive peace deal still appeared distant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the talks as the early “right steps” toward a peaceful settlement of the three-year-old war.
“These are the first steps — not the very first, but initial ones — with this presidential administration toward completely ending the war and the possibility of a full ceasefire, as well as steps toward a sustainable and fair peace agreement,” he said at a news conference.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the US-brokered agreement but criticized Washington for agreeing to ease restrictions on Russian exports.
“These were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps. No one can accuse Ukraine of not moving towards sustainable peace after this,” Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv.
He, however, cautioned that it was “too early to say that it will work.”
