U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had reached out to Vladimir Putin with a request to refrain from striking Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine for a week due to the severe cold, as reported by Rapid Response 47.
Trump noted at a meeting with representatives of his administration on January 29 that the cold in Ukraine had reached record levels. “It’s not just cold there; it’s extraordinarily cold, which is a serious problem, as the weather is really bad. According to them, they have never experienced such cold,” he emphasized.
According to the U.S. President, Putin agreed to his request for a temporary cessation of shelling. “I think it was very kind of him,” Trump remarked, adding that he did not specify when exactly this agreement was reached.
During the discussion, Trump also pointed to significant progress made by Russia and Ukraine in terms of peaceful settlement and mentioned that territorial agreements are currently being considered.
Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller reported that Ukrainian officials learned of Russia's agreement to cease shelling from Trump's statement. They had not received any signals from Moscow and “are not yet sure that the ceasefire has come into effect.”
According to the Financial Times, during negotiations in Abu Dhabi over the past weekend, the U.S. and Ukraine discussed for the first time the possibility of a ceasefire regarding energy infrastructure facilities. The idea was for Russia and Ukraine to agree on a temporary halt to attacks as a step towards de-escalating the conflict, FT sources reported.
“If they are willing to discuss even a temporary truce, then it is worth participating in negotiations. We want that,” added a senior Ukrainian official.
So far, the Kremlin has not made any official comments on Trump's statement, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude to his American counterpart on social media platform X.
“President Trump’s statement about the possibility of ensuring the safety of Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine during the winter cold from Russian attacks is very significant. Energy is the foundation of life, and we appreciate the efforts of our partners in protecting life. Thank you, President Trump! Teams discussed this in the Emirates. We hope that the agreements will be fulfilled. De-escalation steps contribute to real movement towards ending the war,” Zelensky wrote on social media platform X.
Later, Trump added that Russia had already suspended its shelling of Ukraine following his appeal to Putin. He stated this at an event in the Oval Office.
“Russia has not been striking Ukraine for some time due to the terribly cold weather,” he said.
In January, the Russian armed forces attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leading to power and heating outages in several Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
