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Donald Trump has said Vladimir Putin agreed not to fire on Kyiv for a week after the US president personally asked his Russian counterpart to halt attacks because of frigid temperatures in the Ukrainian capital.
Trump said that he was “happy” that Putin acquiesced.
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this . . . extraordinary cold,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“And he agreed to do that. And I have to tell you, it was very nice.”
Trump added people around him had told him not to “waste” a call to Russia’s leader because his request would likely be unsuccessful.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Trump for “the possibility of providing security for Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this extreme winter period”.
“We expect the agreements to be implemented. De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” he said.
Ukrainian officials told the FT that several previous attempts on their part to secure a temporary ceasefire with Russia had failed. Instead, swarms of drones and missiles have attacked critical infrastructure on a daily basis, as Moscow tries to pound the country into submission.
The bombardments have knocked out power, heating and water to millions of people amid sub-zero temperatures.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, on Thursday said Ukraine was facing a “humanitarian catastrophe”. “It’s a very hard winter, and Ukrainians are really suffering. There is a humanitarian catastrophe coming there,” she said.
Trump said “we’re very happy” Russia agreed to hold fire because missiles falling on Ukrainians amid the extreme cold is “not what they need”.
Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure have plunged Kyiv and other regions of the country into cold and darkness in the harshest winter of the war © Vladyslav Sodel/Reuters
US and Ukrainian officials first discussed the idea of a so-called energy ceasefire during peace talks in Abu Dhabi last weekend, said two people familiar with the matter and a senior Ukrainian official involved in the talks.
They said it was the US delegation’s idea for Ukraine and Russia to agree to halt strikes on each other’s energy facilities as a good-faith measure and a step towards de-escalation amid contentious peace talks.
“If they are ready to talk about some kind of a ceasefire, even temporary, it is worth visiting,” the senior Ukrainian told the FT. “We want it.”
Zelenskyy later on Thursday confirmed the teams had discussed the energy ceasefire in the United Arab Emirates.
Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in recent weeks have plunged Kyiv and several other regions of the country into cold and darkness in the harshest winter of the war. Temperatures have reached minus 20C in recent days and are forecast to plunge lower next week.
In his evening address on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said his intelligence officials had warned that Russia was planning another big air attack on Ukraine and Kyiv has yet to have confirmation from Moscow that it has agreed to stop its missile and drone barrages.
“What we see is Russia striking our energy infrastructure every day,” a senior Ukrainian official said.
The US, Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold more talks as soon as next week.
“The talks will continue in about a week,” Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said at the cabinet meeting in Washington. Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and US Army secretary Dan Driscoll were in Abu Dhabi for trilateral talks last weekend.