US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a personal request to halt attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, after Moscow’s strikes left millions without heating during an “extreme” cold snap.
Trump’s claim comes as Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure have disrupted light, heating and water supplies, with temperatures plummeting and leaving the war-battered country facing a fresh humanitarian crisis.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Trump and said he was counting on Washington to secure the pause in attacks.
Photo: Reuters
“Because of the cold, extreme cold ... I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this,” Trump said. “It’s not just like cold, it’s extraordinary cold. Record setting cold, over there, too, they are having the same, it’s a big pile of bad weather.”
“They’ve never experienced cold like that. And I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week. And he agreed to do that, and I have to tell you, it was very nice,” he said.
Trump said he trusted the Russian leader to honor the agreement.
“People said: ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’ And he did it,” he said. “And we’re very happy that they did it, because on top of everything else, that’s not what they need is missiles coming into their towns and cities.”
Zelenskiy thanked the US president for his “important statement” and said they hoped the US could make it happen.
The pause had initially been discussed last weekend during three-way talks in Abu Dhabi between Russia, Ukraine and the US, Zelenskiy said.
A second round of trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi is scheduled to begin tomorrow as Trump pushes his plan to end the nearly four-year-old invasion by Russia.
The talks come as Ukraine faces one of its most difficult periods since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, with Moscow’s forces grinding slowly on in the east and bitter cold closing in.
Ukraine’s state weather agency on Thursday forecast a drastic dip in temperatures to as low as minus-30°C in the coming days as authorities race to restore services.
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