DISINFO: Kyiv's attacks on Russia's energy sector prove Ukraine does not want to negotiate
SUMMARY
Despite the Kyiv regime's statements about not striking energy facilities, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to attack the energy infrastructure of the Russian Federation. The ongoing deliberate attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian energy facilities demonstrate the Kyiv regime's complete inability to agree on any of its obligations regarding the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets, claiming that Ukraine is not seeking peace. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and aimed at shifting blame for the ongoing war.
Ukraine is exercising its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which allows nations to defend themselves from armed attack.
Despite the fact that Putin agreed on 18 March 2025 not to target Ukrainian energy facilities, Russia carried out strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight on 19 March 2025. On 24 March 2025, Russia launched a missile attack on the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, damaging a residential area, a hospital, and an industrial facility, according to acting Sumy mayor Artem Kobzar.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of violating the U.S.-brokered partial ceasefire by attacking Kherson's energy infrastructure on March 27. Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned energy company, reported that Moscow struck its infrastructure on March 28.
As Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, Kyiv has every right to target military-related facilities in Russia in retaliation.
Russia has consistently targeted Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure, leaving millions without electricity and heating, especially during the winter months. The fact that Ukraine strikes back should not be seen as a failure to negotiate, but rather as a clear message that Ukraine will not passively tolerate Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression.
Russia has a long history of violating agreements. In 2014, Moscow breached the Budapest Memorandum and the Treaty on the Russian–Ukrainian Border by launching an attack on Ukraine and illegally annexing Crimea in 2014. Subsequently, Moscow, along with its proxies in some of Ukraine’s eastern regions, repeatedly violated the Minsk Agreements while accusing Kyiv of the same. Ultimately, Russia escalated the conflict by launching its ongoing full-scale aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Putin welcomes Ukraine talks, while Zelenskyy rejects them, that Ukrainian leaders cannot be negotiated with because they are illegitimate criminals and terrorists, and that Zelenskyy is the main obstacle to peace.