Trump says Putin agreed to pause attacks on Kyiv during cold snap

Ukraine forecasts temperatures dropping to minus 30C as officials rush to restore damaged services

United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to halt attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for a week during an extreme cold snap, after strikes damaged power infrastructure and left civilians without heating.

“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,” Trump told a cabinet meeting at the White House.

Trump said Russian missile and drone attacks had worsened humanitarian conditions as freezing temperatures spread across Ukraine.

“On top of everything else, that’s not what they need — missiles coming into their towns and cities,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin. Trump said he trusted Putin to honour the commitment, despite scepticism from others.

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“People said, ‘don’t waste the call, you’re not going to get that.’ And he did it,” Trump said.

Recruits of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during a training exercise o the frontline, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, December 29.PHOTO: REUTERS

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure have disrupted electricity, heating and water supplies for millions, pushing the country toward a humanitarian crisis during what officials say could be the harshest winter since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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Ukraine’s state weather agency forecast temperatures falling as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days, as authorities scramble to restore damaged services.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Wednesday of renewed Russian attacks on energy facilities.

Trump said there had been “a lot of progress” in US-brokered talks between Kyiv and Moscow aimed at ending the war, now nearing its fifth year.

Russian attacks killed six people in central and southern Ukraine on Thursday, regional authorities and emergency services said.