Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 1 called a proposal to stop attacks on ships in exchange for halting strikes on Russian oil refineries “absurd.” His rebuke follows US efforts to secure an energy ceasefire and reopen the Black Sea grain corridor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to halt attacks on Russian energy sites if Moscow stops striking Ukraine’s electricity, heating and water supply. Washington agreed to convey that proposal to Russia. Zelensky said the US was also pursuing a trilateral meeting with Russia and Ukraine.

The last reported Ukrainian refinery strike was on Sept. 26 at Ilsky in Russia’s Krasnodar region, though drones hit oil depots in the region on Sept. 28. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 27 that he had asked Zelensky to ease refinery attacks and received the response, “Well, we'll probably do that.” Kyiv has not publicly confirmed an agreement to scale back strikes. Trump has blamed the attacks for diesel shortages as US diesel prices reached $6.51 a gallon on Sept. 21, compared with $3.70 a year earlier.