US President Donald Trump has stated that he personally asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to halt missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for a week.
According to Trump, the reason for this is the extremely cold weather affecting Ukraine, which is further exacerbating the already serious energy and humanitarian crisis.
Trump made the announcement during a meeting with members of the government at the White House. "I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and various cities for a week, and he agreed," he said. He added that this is an "extreme winter" that Ukraine has never experienced before, according to him.
The Kremlin did not immediately comment on Trump's words.
When is the pause supposed to start?
However, the US president did not provide any specific details about how exactly the communication with Putin took place.
He also did not specify the date when the agreement was to be concluded, nor from when the "week without attacks" should be counted.
However, Trump said he trusts Putin and expects him to keep his promise. "People told me it was useless, that you wouldn't get it. And he did it," the president said.
Ukraine to be hit by severe frost
Trump linked his statement to the sharp cold snap that is expected to hit Ukraine in the coming days. According to the Ukrainian State Meteorological Service, temperatures in the north of the country could drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
The severe frosts come at a time when Ukraine is still recovering from repeated Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. Hundreds of thousands of homes in Kyiv remain without restored heating, and the situation in the sector remains difficult.
"It's not just cold, it's record cold," Trump said, comparing it to the current cold snap in Washington.
Humanitarian crisis
Russian strikes on Ukrainian power plants, substations, and other energy facilities have deprived millions of people of stable electricity, heating, and water supplies. Combined with the freezing temperatures, this is pushing the country toward a humanitarian crisis, according to several observers.
MP Andriy Gerus warned that the next three weeks will be the most critical. Major cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, are facing regular outages.
Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that in the capital alone, approximately 610,000 households were left without electricity. The energy company DTEK warned that the situation was "close to a humanitarian disaster."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also warned of the risk of further attacks on energy facilities.
Kyiv calls for an "energy truce"
Ukraine has long been calling for a so-called energy truce, i.e., a temporary halt to attacks on infrastructure during the winter. The aim is to enable repairs and stabilize supplies.
New solar capacity, which according to Ukrainian officials has already exceeded the output of nuclear power plants, offers some hope. However, its effectiveness depends on the weather, which is unpredictable in the winter months. Zelensky admitted that the country is currently only able to cover about 60 percent of its energy needs.
Trump also said that the United States had made "great progress" in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow on a possible end to the war. However, he did not specify any concrete steps. He also noted that his summit with Putin in Alaska last year did not bring about a major breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the attacks continue. On Thursday, six people were killed in Russian strikes in central and southern Ukraine, regional authorities said.
The situation is unacceptable
Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer) also commented on the deteriorating humanitarian situation after the EU Council meeting in Brussels.
According to him, the current situation in Ukraine caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure is "unacceptable for Slovakia." Blanár said that Slovakia has protested against Russia and expressed its support for Ukrainian civilians.
"The situation is very critical from a humanitarian point of view because there are severe frosts and the Russian side is targeting energy sources very precisely," he said. According to the minister, Slovakia has provided assistance to Kyiv, including increased electricity supplies in January and generators to be sent to the Sumy region.
EU ministers also discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, including its future membership in the European Union. Blanár emphasized that Slovakia supports Ukraine's full membership in the EU without any shortcuts and according to the same rules that apply to other countries.
(reuters, Ukrajinska pravda, France24, tasr, mja)