US President Donald Trump has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to temporarily halt attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for one week, citing the impact of extreme winter temperatures on the war-ravaged country.
Trump made the disclosure during a cabinet meeting at the White House, saying he personally appealed to Putin to pause the strikes as freezing conditions further strain Ukraine’s already damaged infrastructure.
“Because of the cold, extreme cold, I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week,” Trump said. “And he agreed to do that.”
Russia’s sustained attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities have disrupted electricity, heating and water supplies for millions, raising fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis as temperatures plunge. Ukraine’s state weather agency has warned that temperatures could fall to as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius in parts of the country in the coming days.
Trump described the weather conditions as “record-setting cold,” adding that Ukraine was facing similar challenges to the current cold snap in Washington. “They’ve never experienced cold like that,” he said, calling Putin’s alleged agreement “very nice.”
There was no immediate confirmation from the Kremlin regarding the reported pause. However, Trump said he believed Putin would honor the commitment, despite previous diplomatic efforts failing to produce a lasting breakthrough, including talks held in Alaska last August.
“I have to tell you, people said, ‘don’t waste the call,’” Trump said. “But he did it, and we’re very happy, because missiles coming into towns and cities is the last thing they need right now.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of possible renewed attacks on energy infrastructure, even as emergency crews continue repair work across affected regions.
Trump also claimed that US-brokered discussions between Kyiv and Moscow had made “a lot of progress” toward ending the conflict, which is approaching its fifth year.
Despite the reported agreement, Russian strikes on Thursday reportedly killed six people in central and southern Ukraine, according to regional authorities and emergency services.