KYIV, Mar 27 (Reuters/BBC): Ukraine and Russia accused one another on Wednesday of flouting a truce on energy strikes brokered by the United States, and conditions set by Russia cast doubt over a planned ceasefire in the Black Sea.
The United States announced separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday to pause their strikes in the Black Sea and against each other's energy targets, but the rhetoric from Moscow and Kyiv suggested they remained far apart.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US side told Kyiv the deals were effective as soon as they were announced. But the Kremlin said the Black Sea one would not enter force until a sanctioned Russian state bank was reconnected to the international payment system, a step that Europe said would not happen until a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
The Kremlin meanwhile contends it has already been implementing a pause on energy attacks since Mar 18, though a senior Ukrainian presidential official said Russia had attacked eight Ukrainian energy facilities since that date.
On paper, the agreements are a tangible step towards a ceasefire after Russia launched its 2022 invasion, unleashing the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two that rages on along a 1,000-km (600-mile) front line.
Led by Donald Trump, who wants a quick peace, the United States on Tuesday published two separate joint statements with Moscow and Kyiv outlining the deals, but neither document set out a clear timeline for their implementation.
Zelensky hopes US will 'stand strong'
in face of Russian demands
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he hopes the US will "stand strong" in the face of Russian demands to lift sanctions as a condition for a ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Moscow said a maritime truce announced on Tuesday to allow safe passage for commercial vessels would only begin once Western restrictions on Russia's food and fertiliser trade had been lifted.
Zelensky was speaking during a panel interview in Paris with journalists from across Europe. Asked by the BBC if the US would resist Russian pressure, he said: "I hope so. God bless, they will. But we'll see."
The White House said on Tuesday that Russian and Ukrainian delegations had agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea after three days of separate talks with American officials in Saudi Arabia.
But hours later, the Kremlin released its own statement including a list of conditions.
