Key facts
- The Kremlin rejected U.S.-backed proposals for a mutual pause in aerial strikes with Ukraine.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated Russia would continue targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
- Peskov called Ukraine's truce requests an attempt to protect its "Achilles' heel".
- Russia has been systematically targeting Ukraine's energy grid since the first year of the full-scale war.
- Ukraine has been striking Russian oil refineries, depots, and other strategic targets.
- Moscow's peace conditions include Ukraine ceding the Donbas region and relinquishing NATO membership ambitions.
The Kremlin on September 10, 2026, rejected U.S.-backed proposals for a mutual pause in aerial strikes with Ukraine, signaling Moscow's intent to continue targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Kyiv's proposals did not constitute a "permanent settlement that would fully align with (Russian) interests" and were aimed at protecting what he called Ukraine's "Achilles' heel."
The comments came as a rejection of the latest U.S.-Ukraine proposal for an aerial truce, put forward during the visit of U.S. peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv the previous weekend. Ukraine has repeatedly called for a full ceasefire along current front lines as a first step toward peace talks, a proposal the Kremlin has rejected while continuing to press its territorial demands.