Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Oct. 12 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was seeking a ceasefire merely to reconstitute Ukrainian military formations, asserting that Zelenskyy "has not earned a respite on the battlefield." On the same day, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow harbors no interest in Zelenskyy’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire to facilitate elections. Peskov remarked that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would be prepared to order a halt to strikes solely on the single day of voting itself.
ISW analysts underscored that offering a single-day pause is an unserious proposition that constitutes a de facto rejection of any workable framework for legitimate elections. These official statements, paired with heavy Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight between Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, demonstrate that no ceasefire is in effect and that Moscow continues to spurn the terms of the energy truce announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 11.
The ISW report noted that the Kremlin routinely dismisses any compromise that fails to deliver unilateral advantages to Russia, making it highly probable that Moscow will refuse to halt strikes on Ukraine's energy grid ahead of the winter freeze.
Russian Internal Rhetoric on Energy and Diesel
High-ranking Russian lawmakers and ultranationalist voices endorsed the Kremlin's refusal to freeze energy strikes, openly asserting that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are not the true driver of global diesel shortages. Aleksey Zhuravlyov, first deputy chair of the State Duma Defense Committee, claimed on Oct. 10 that the primary driver of global fuel shortages is instability in the Middle East. Zhuravlyov welcomed President Trump's temporary waiver of diesel export sanctions, calling Washington's acceptance of the Russian fuel narrative a "major victory for Russia."
A prominent Russian military blogger explained why Moscow considers an energy truce disadvantageous, stating that halting strikes on Ukrainian power plants would deprive Russia of its primary leverage accumulated through protracted air campaigns. The commentator emphasized that Russian strikes on airfields and industrial plants are far less strategically coercive than systematically degrading Ukraine's energy grid.
The ISW concluded that statements from Russian lawmakers and military correspondents clearly demonstrate that Moscow rejects genuine ceasefire accords because it remains exclusively committed to total victory and destruction of Ukrainian sovereignty, refusing any compromise that limits its ability to inflict maximum infrastructural damage.