U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he made a “personal request” to Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt bombardments on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities for one week, citing the exceptionally harsh winter conditions currently affecting the country.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, President Trump said that President Putin agreed to the request.
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week and he agreed to do that,” Trump said. “I have to tell you it was very nice.”
The White House did not provide further details regarding the exact scope or terms of this sudden pause in hostilities. The announcement comes as Russian and Ukrainian representatives are expected to meet again on Sunday for direct negotiations in the United Arab Emirates.
President Trump explained that his appeal was motivated by the “extremely” cold weather gripping Ukraine, which has been exacerbated by widespread power and heating outages following Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.
According to Ukraine’s Hydrometeorological Center, a period of severe cold is forecast from Sunday through Tuesday, with nighttime temperatures expected to drop to between –20°C and –27°C, and in some areas even as low as –30°C.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the development, thanking Washington for its “efforts aimed at bringing an end to attacks on the energy sector.”
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
