US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One, after attending a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Lee
President Donald Trump's announced ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia on Sunday carries some significant risks and shows that the president's efforts to make lasting peace between the two countries may be "dead in the water," according to one political analyst.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that "there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE (sic) in the War between Russia and Ukraine" and that "both parties have agreed." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the announcement as a surprise to him, and told Ukrainian citizens in a nightly address that Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure were ongoing despite Trump's announcement.
Jill Dougherty, a journalist and expert on Russia, sounded that alarm about the announced ceasefire during an interview with CNN's Frederika Whitfield on "CNN Newsroom."
"So thissituation is quite dire, andit's very delicate for Zelenskyy to be diplomatic andyet stand up for his owncountry," Dougherty said. "It's very, verydifficult right now."
Dougherty noted that the international community is not taking the announced ceasefire seriously. It was announced at a time when Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin had agreed for Russia to sell diesel fuel to the U.S. in an effort to reduce costs ahead of the consequential midterms.
Zelenskyy blasted the diesel deal during an interview on Sunday, saying it would give Putin more money that he can use to escalate Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Dougherty added that the ceasefire announcement also revealed how Trump's efforts to make peace between the two countries have failed.
"Remember, Mr. Trump, years ago at the beginning, said, 'I will solve this in 24 hours.' And so nowit's been a very long time. Hehasn't solved it, and he has tobegin to show that there is someprogress," Dougherty said. "But right now, thosetalks that have been takingplace ... just a couple of days ago inMiami, seem truly dead in thewater. And so to saythere's a ceasefire,maybe that sounds gooddomestically, but nobody seemsto be taking it at all as the truth."