Moscow promised to halt strikes on Kiev and other cities until February 1 amid harsh winter conditions
Russian President Vladimir Putin kept his promise on a weeklong pause in strikes on Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities amid a winter power crisis, US President Donald Trump has said.
Last week, amid reports that Moscow and Kiev had reached an ‘energy ceasefire’, Trump announced that he personally asked Putin to agree to a partial pause in strikes “because of the extreme cold.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed the truce, adding that a weeklong moratorium would last until February 1 and was aimed at “creating favorable conditions for negotiations,” referring to US-brokered Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the pause had run “Sunday to Sunday.”“And he hit [them] hard last night. No, he kept his word on that,” Trump added. “It’s a lot… We’ll take anything, because it’s really, really cold over there.”
Asked whether he was disappointed Putin did not extend the ceasefire, Trump said he wanted him to “end the war.”
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky confirmed on Monday that Russia had not launched targeted missile or drone strikes on major energy infrastructure since the pause began, though he claimed that shelling continued in frontline areas. On February 3, Zelensky accused Russia of violating the truce with overnight strikes, despite Moscow saying the moratorium had already expired.
Ukraine’s power grid system has been under severe strain amid repeated Russian missile and drone strikes, with recurring rolling blackouts and temperatures dropping below -10 C in many regions.
Moscow has said it has been targeting energy infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s defense industry in response to Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia, including strikes on critical infrastructure and civilian areas. Moscow maintains it never targets civilians.
