Zelensky set out the condition while speaking to journalists, saying Ukraine would refrain from attacking energy facilities if Russia did the same to Ukraine's energy system, heating and water supply.
He pointed to talks in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where he met Donald Trump. According to Zelensky, the U.S. president did not this time ask him to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries. Zelensky added that American partners had raised the issue earlier, and that Trump himself had discussed high diesel prices in phone calls.
Asked about prices, Zelensky said that for Ukraine lives matter more than the cost of energy, and noted that global diesel prices are driven more by the situation around the Strait of Hormuz.
At the General Assembly session, Zelensky said the target of Ukrainian deep strikes inside Russia is not gasoline, not diesel, not plants and not ports, but Russia's ability to finance the war.
He also said the Ukrainian Armed Forces have destroyed 45% of the production capacity of Russian refineries, and threatened strikes on Russia's energy sector in the coming winter if Russia continues to attack Ukraine's energy and heating. If that does not happen, he said, the winter could prove very harsh for Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after meeting Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the General Assembly, said Russia and Ukraine are interested in a temporary halt to mutual strikes on energy infrastructure and on facilities linked to agricultural exports. Lavrov, for his part, said Russia will not pause what it calls the "SVO" for talks in any format.
The Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the Kremlin's position, reported that Vladimir Putin does not want to conclude an agreement on halting strikes on energy before winter, calculating that attacks on Ukraine's energy sector will increase pressure on Kyiv.
Separately, Zelensky said that from January to August the Russian army lost about 250,000 service members killed and seriously wounded in Ukraine, while Russia managed to seize only about a thousand square kilometers of Ukrainian territory. According to him, Putin wants to seize Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and other cities.
Zelensky urged countries around the world to join the FREYJA anti-ballistic defense program, noting that stockpiles of interceptor missiles capable of downing ballistic missiles are shrinking. On sanctions under the Lindsey Graham law, he said he hopes for a Trump attempt to agree an energy truce, and otherwise for strong steps to push Putin.
Sources differ in their assessment of the prospects for an agreement: Rubio speaks of both sides' interest in a temporary halt to strikes on energy, Lavrov rules out a pause in the "SVO" for talks, and the FT, citing sources, reports that Putin does not want a deal before winter.