Trump Says Russia Agreed to Pause Attack on Ukraine’s Cities During Winter Weather

President Donald Trump said on Jan. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to pause attacks on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and other cities for one week due to extreme cold weather.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he had personally asked Putin not to launch attacks on Kyiv and other major cities during the “extraordinary cold,” and the Russian leader agreed.

“And I have to tell you, it was very nice. A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste a call, you’re not going to get that.’ And he did it, and we’re very happy that they did it,” the president said.

Trump did not specify when he spoke with the Russian leader, and the Kremlin has not issued any statement confirming an agreement to pause attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Trump on social media, saying that a potential pause in Russian attacks would protect lives.

“Power supply is a foundation of life. We value the efforts of our partners to help us protect lives,” Zelenskyy said in a Jan. 29 post on X.

Earlier this month, Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure left thousands of homes in Kyiv without electricity. The United Nations said on Jan. 20 that about 5,635 multi-storey residential buildings were left with no heating amid freezing winter conditions, citing Kyiv’s mayor.

Zelenskyy said that his officials discussed with U.S. and Russian officials during last week’s trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates about a potential temporary halt in attacks, and he expects Russia to de-escalate.

“We expect the agreements to be implemented. De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” the Ukrainian leader said without elaborating.

The trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23 was part of “ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis” involving Russia and Ukraine, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although it ended without any agreement.

Russia has demanded Kyiv surrender its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Jan. 24 that Russia’s insistence on gaining all of Donbas was “a very important condition.”

Zelenskyy has refused to give in to Moscow’s demands over Ukraine’s 20 percent of the Donetsk region of the Donbas. Ukraine’s portion is roughly 1,900 square miles.

“The most important thing is that Russia should be ready to end this war, which it started,“ Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. “We’ll see how the conversation goes tomorrow and what the outcome will be.”

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said the two-day meeting was “very constructive.”  In a Jan. 24 post on X, he said that the parties agreed to continue talks next week in Abu Dhabi, reaffirming U.S. efforts to end the Russia–Ukraine war.

Guy Birchall contributed to this report.