President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine will retaliate in kind if Russian forces launch strikes against the country’s energy infrastructure this winter, pledging reciprocal consequences if Moscow attempts to plunge Ukrainian cities into blackouts. Speaking in an interview with American journalist Fareed Zakaria and addressing the Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum in Kyiv on Friday, Sept. 11, Zelensky stressed that while Russia is preparing an aerial campaign against Ukraine’s power grid, Kyiv has built the capabilities to respond symmetrically.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Ukraine is capable of responding to Russia for any of their operations,” Zelensky said. “Russia knows that if they strike – and they are preparing to strike our energy system in the winter – Russia will receive the exact same. If they cause us blackouts, we will try to respond to them in kind.” Zelensky clarified that while Kyiv will not emulate Moscow’s disregard for civilian life, it will not leave strategic infrastructure attacks unanswered. “I’m not comparing this to the humanitarian catastrophes they are causing today. Ukraine does not do that,” he stated. Call for an ‘energy truce’ Zelensky emphasized that an escalating cycle of infrastructure strikes can be averted if the parties agree to a targeted “energy truce” alongside unblocking the Black Sea. “The negotiation process must be about ending the war,” Zelensky explained. “And if Russia does not want to end it, then partners need to find an approach toward it. If that is difficult to find, then today, at the very least, we need to move forward step by step. Unblock the Black Sea and find a way toward an energy truce, if one can use that phrase, where the energy sector of both countries is protected.”