Trump says Russia will avoid attacking Ukrainian cities during the harsh winter conditions
US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine for a week because of unusually severe cold weather.
Russia has not confirmed the agreement, but Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the move.
Although Trump did not specify when the moratorium would begin, as of Friday night, airstrike warnings had been issued for only four Ukrainian regions near the frontline.
Temperatures in Kyiv are expected to drop sharply from Thursday, reaching -24°C (-11°F) over the next few days. In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as it has during the cold spell since the start of a full-scale offensive in 2022.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday that the four regions where the sirens were sounding had been targeted by 80 Russian drones and ballistic missiles.
Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump said, “I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and other cities for a week, and he agreed to do so.”
“It was very nice. A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the phone; you won’t get the phone.’” The U.S. president said, “And he [Putin] listened.”
He said of the Ukrainian people, “They almost couldn’t believe it, but they were very happy about it because they were struggling so much.”
Later on Thursday, in a social media post, Zelensky said Trump had made an “important statement” about “the possibility of protecting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this very cold winter.”
“Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” he said. We hope the agreements will be implemented.”
Ukraine has agreed to follow Moscow’s lead—in response, it will cease attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Last week, negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, and the US met in the UAE for the first three-way talks since the war began.
All sides described the talks as constructive, but there has been no announcement that Russia has agreed to halt its attacks until the region’s severe cold snap eases.
Instead, the attacks have continued, knocking out power supplies in major Ukrainian cities, leaving millions without heat or electricity.
Electrical companies are working around the clock on repairs, but their work can be quickly undone by Russian airstrikes. Even when power is restored, the supply only lasts for a few hours—enough to charge appliances, but not enough to adequately heat homes.
