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Russian Foreign Ministry cynically justifies strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure

Russian Foreign Ministry cynically justifies strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Photo: Sergey Lavrov (Getty Images)

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, cynically claimed that Russia allegedly did not launch attacks on civilian targets and that it was Ukraine that first struck its energy facilities, according to Russian media.

Read also: Energy truce was tactical move: ISW explains Kremlin strategy

"We never initiated these actions. It was the Ukrainians who first started striking energy and other civilian facilities, including residential buildings, shops, and hospitals," Lavrov fantasized.

He also spoke of supposedly many "examples of Russia showing goodwill" and accused Ukraine of violating previous agreements on an energy truce.

Energy truce

On January 29, US President Donald Trump said he had asked the Russian President Vladimir Putin to temporarily halt strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure due to extreme cold. According to him, the dictator agreed to the proposal.

The proposed energy truce was supposed to last one week. At the same time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow had agreed to suspend the attacks only until February 1.

The energy truce began on January 30, but on the night of February 3, the Russian forces carried out massive strikes on energy facilities in several regions of Ukraine. As a result of the heavy shelling, a large number of Ukrainians were left without heating during the severe cold.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia had violated the energy truce and waited for the coldest days of this winter to launch its attack. At the same time, Trump claimed that the agreement had not been violated.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian embassy provided the US State Department with detailed information on all attacks that occurred since Russia had "agreed" to the energy truce.