In brief
During a cabinet meeting, Donald Trump announced that Vladimir Putin has consented to refrain from attacking Ukraine’s cities for a week, as harsh winter weather impacts the region. While Ukraine's President Zelensky welcomed the news, there is currently no confirmation from Russia regarding this agreement. With temperatures expected to plummet to as low as -24C, the humanitarian concerns continue as attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure persist.
US President Donald Trump says Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attack Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities and towns for a week due to 'extraordinary cold' weather. Russia has not confirmed any such agreement, but Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump's announcement and said he expected Russia to keep its promise. Trump did not specify when the pause would begin, but temperatures in the Ukrainian capital are due to plummet from Thursday night and reach -24C (-11F) in the next few days.Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the bitter winter, as it has during cold periods since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Washington DC, the US president said: 'I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that.' Trump added, 'It was very nice. A lot of people said, 'Don't waste the call, you're not going to get that.' And he [Putin] did it.' The Ukrainians, he said, 'almost they didn't believe it, but they were very happy about it because they are struggling badly.'Later, in a social media post, Zelensky said Trump had made an 'important statement' about 'the possibility of providing security for Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this extreme winter period'.The BBC understands that Ukraine has agreed to mirror Moscow's actions, pausing its own attacks on Russian oil refineries in response. Meanwhile, discussions in the UAE involving Russian, Ukrainian, and US negotiators were described as constructive, but there has yet to be lengthy confirmation from Russia regarding a halt of its own attacks during the cold.Attacks have continued, crippling the power supply to major Ukrainian cities, leaving millions without heating or electricity. Even when power is restored, it often lasts only a few hours.
