Friday, January 30, 2026 - US President Donald Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to halt attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for one week, as extreme winter conditions grip the country and strain already damaged infrastructure.
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power facilities have disrupted
electricity, heating and water supplies for millions, pushing the war-hit
nation toward a deepening humanitarian crisis amid freezing temperatures.
“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 during a cabinet meeting at the White House. He described the
weather as “record-setting cold,” comparing it to a current cold snap in
Washington and noting that conditions in Ukraine are similarly severe.
“They’ve never experienced cold like that,” Trump said. “And
I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns
for a week. And he agreed to do that. It was very nice.”
There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, but Trump
said he trusted Putin to honor the agreement, despite past diplomatic efforts
failing to produce a breakthrough, including a summit in Alaska last August.
“I have to tell you, people said, ‘don’t waste the
call. You’re not going to get that.’ And he did it,” Trump said. “We’re very
happy they did it, because on top of everything else, that’s not what they need
— missiles coming into their towns and cities.”
Ukraine’s state weather agency has forecast a sharp drop in
temperatures to as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius in the coming days, as
authorities rush to restore basic services. Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky has warned of fresh Russian attacks on energy facilities, even as
emergency repairs continue.
Trump also said there had been “a lot of progress” in
US-brokered talks between Kyiv and Moscow aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine, which is approaching its fifth year.
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