United States President Donald Trump said Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to halt attacks on Kyiv and other cities for a week, as Moscow’s strikes leave Ukraine facing its toughest winter since the start of the war.
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have left millions with disrupted light, heating and water supplies in freezing temperatures, pushing the war-battered country towards humanitarian crisis.
“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 told a cabinet meeting at the White House.
“It’s extraordinary. 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,” added Trump, comparing it to a current cold snap in Washington.
“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.”
‘Real progress’ to ending the war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he expected the pause to go ahead.
“Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented,” Zelenskyy wrote on the X social media platform.
“De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war.”
There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin but Trump — whose summit in Alaska with the Russian leader last August ended without a breakthrough — said he trusted Putin to honour the agreement.
“I have to tell you, people said, ‘don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’ And he did it,” said Trump.
“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.”
Drastic dip in temperatures
Ukraine’s state weather agency on Thursday forecast a drastic dip in temperatures to as low as minus 30C in coming days as authorities race to restore services.
Zelenskyy warned in an evening address on Wednesday of fresh Russian attacks on energy facilities.
Trump added that there had been “a lot of progress” in US-brokered talks between Kyiv and Moscow to end Russia’s invasion of its pro-Western neighbour, which will soon enter its fifth year.
Russian attacks killed six people in central and southern Ukraine on Thursday, regional authorities and emergency services said.
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