Zelensky said the days to come would show whether Moscow would abide by such an agreement.

“Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented,” Zelensky wrote in English on the X social media platform. “De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war.”

Speaking immediately afterwards in his nightly video address, Zelensky expressed his thanks to Washington for the initiative, which he described as halting Russian strikes on energy targets.

“Thanks to the American side for their efforts in ensuring a stop to strikes on energy (targets) at this time and let’s hope that America succeeds in ensuring this,” he said.

“We shall see what the real situation is with our energy facilities and cities in the days and nights to come.”

The Kremlin on Thursday said that Russia had reiterated its invitation for Zelensky to come to Moscow for peace talks to reach a deal to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.