The Kremlin says President Putin agreed to suspend strikes on Kyiv for one week, until February 1, after a personal request from US President Donald Trump, who cited extreme cold. Moscow framed the pause as support for US-backed negotiations ahead of talks in Abu Dhabi. Ukraine reported fewer large-scale strikes on the capital but said some regions were still hit, while forecasts warn temperatures could fall to -30°C, raising humanitarian concerns.
Putin Agrees To One-Week Pause In Strikes On Kyiv After Trump Request — Kyiv Braces For -30°C As Talks Loom
Russian strikes on energy sites have plunged entire cities in Ukraine into darkness and cut heating and water supplies to millions (Sergei GAPON)(Sergei GAPON/AFP/AFP)
The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to refrain from striking Kyiv for one week, until February 1, following a personal request from US President Donald Trump. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the pause was intended to create "favourable conditions for negotiations." Neither side specified exactly when Mr. Trump made the request.
Trump said he appealed to Mr. Putin because of the extreme cold, and Moscow described the appeal as helping a US-backed negotiation effort to end nearly four years of war between the neighbours. The announcement comes amid growing concern over damage to Ukraine's power grid and the humanitarian consequences of prolonged outages.
Energy Cuts And Humanitarian Risk
Russia's sustained attacks on Ukraine's energy network have left entire districts without heating. Forecasters warned that temperatures in Kyiv could plunge to around -30°C in the coming days, raising fears of a humanitarian emergency if power and heating services remain disrupted.
"I can say that President Trump did indeed make a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week until February 1 in order to create favourable conditions for negotiations," said Dmitry Peskov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were no strikes on energy facilities overnight in the capital, but tempered the statement: "Yesterday afternoon our energy infrastructure in several regions was hit." He welcomed the temporary pause and said Kyiv would refrain from striking Russian energy targets while its own energy assets were not attacked.
Continued Fighting And Damage
Despite the pause around Kyiv, Ukraine's air force reported that Russian forces launched dozens of drones and at least one missile overnight. Officials said attacks damaged civilian infrastructure in Chernihiv region in the north and struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia in the south.
Negotiations And The Territorial Stalemate
The temporary halt comes ahead of a planned second round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi. The talks are expected to focus on the central, unresolved issue of territory: Moscow currently occupies large areas in the south and east and has demanded that Kyiv withdraw from parts of Donetsk it now controls — a demand Kyiv rejects.
President Zelensky said negotiators have been unable to find a compromise on territorial issues and reiterated that Ukraine is willing to consider compromises that do not alter its territorial integrity.
Moscow announced it had captured three more villages in the southern Zaporizhzhia region on Friday. Zelensky also accused Moscow of halting prisoner exchanges — one of the few remaining areas of cooperation during the conflict — saying that Russia did not see value in continuing swaps at this time.
Key facts: The pause is set to expire on February 1; its start date was not clarified. Ukraine reports fewer large-scale strikes on Kyiv this week but warns that some regions continue to suffer attacks and infrastructure damage while facing dangerously low temperatures.
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