Ukraine and Russia negotiate halt to strikes on energy facilities - Financial Times

Kyiv seeks to revive negotiations mediated by Qatar, which came close to an agreement in August but were derailed by Ukraine's incursion into Kursk, sources including senior officials reported.

"There’s very early talks about potentially restarting something. There’s now talks on the energy facilities," said a diplomat informed about the negotiations.

According to the official, Moscow and Kyiv have already reduced the frequency of attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in recent weeks as part of an arrangement reached by their intelligence agencies.

However, according to a former senior Kremlin official, Putin is unlikely to agree to a deal until Russian forces drive Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, where they still control about 600 square kilometers of territory.

Meanwhile, Ukraine plans to continue striking targets in Russia, including oil refineries, to exert pressure on Russia during negotiations.

The Financial Times reports that the Kursk operation caused Moscow to withdraw from the previous round of negotiations in August when officials were beginning to plan an in-person meeting in Doha.

Qatar began acting as a mediator in these talks in June following a summit in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited.

Four Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that last autumn, Kyiv and Moscow reached a tacit agreement not to strike each other's energy facilities. As a result, Russia refrained from large-scale attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure that winter.

This agreement was meant to pave the way for an official deal, the sources said.

However, Kyiv resumed drone attacks on Russian oil facilities in February and March of this year, aiming to increase pressure on Moscow after the failed 2023 counteroffensive.

Despite warnings from the White House to cease strikes, Kyiv continued its offensive, and Moscow concluded that the tacit agreement had been breached, sources told journalists.

Subsequently, Russia escalated the situation by launching volleys of long-range missiles targeting power plants across Ukraine, including the Trypilska thermal power plant, located 40 km from Kyiv, which was completely destroyed.

According to the Financial Times, as part of the Ukrainian campaign that began in early 2024, at least nine of Russia's 32 largest oil refineries have been damaged.

According to the latest survey from the Razumkov Center, the number of Ukrainians supporting peace negotiations with Russia has increased over the past year. However, they are still far from a majority.

The Office of the President has outlined the main condition for commencing negotiations with Russia - the withdrawal of hostile troops to their positions as of February 24, 2022.