There is no energy truce – this is a classic Russian scam

There is no agreement on an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia, and the very idea is a classic Russian ploy. This was stated by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, in an interview with journalist Dmytro Gordon.

“There is no decision on an energy truce, at least because you have heard nothing about it from Russia. There is only a statement from the US President,” he noted.

Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum described the very structure of such a “truce” as disadvantageous for Ukraine. “This is yet another return to the fundamentals of Russian policy — a scam. An energy truce along the lines of: ‘Do not strike at one of the key components of the Russian war machine – the Russian oil refineries – and the Russians will not strike at what there is no longer any point in striking,’ emphasised Yatsenyuk.

He stressed that there is no reason to believe such a truce is realistic, as Russia has stockpiled vast quantities of weaponry. “The Russians are producing between 70 and 100 ballistic missiles a month, and together with North Korean ones – 100–120 a month. To shoot these down, Ukraine needs 240 Patriot missiles every month. Plus jet-powered drones, which they didn’t have last winter but do now, and which are striking with considerable accuracy,” noted KSF Chairman.

Yatsenyuk described Russia’s true aim as creating internal tension in Ukraine. “This is pressure on the Ukrainian authorities and society to achieve their goal – Ukraine’s capitulation,” he emphasised.