Trump says Putin agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine amid ‘extreme cold’: Where does the Russia-Ukraine conflict stand?
While Russia has not so far confirmed the truce, Ukrainian President Zelensky thanked Trump.
United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday (local time) that he asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv and others for a week due to harsh winter conditions there and that the latter had agreed to it.
"Because of the cold, extreme cold... I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this," the US President said during a cabinet meeting at the White House.
"They've never experienced cold like that. And I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week. And he agreed to do that, and I have to tell you, it was very nice," he added, as quoted by news agency AFP.
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“A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’” Trump said, adding, “And he did it. And we’re very happy that they did it.”
However, it remains unclear when the proposed week-long truce would begin.
{{/usCountry}}However, it remains unclear when the proposed week-long truce would begin.
{{/usCountry}}While Russia has not so far confirmed the same, Ukrainian President Zelensky thanked Trump. “An important statement by @POTUS about the possibility of providing security for Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this extreme winter period. Power supply is a foundation of life. We value the efforts of our partners to help us protect lives. Thank you, President Trump! Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented. De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
{{/usCountry}}While Russia has not so far confirmed the same, Ukrainian President Zelensky thanked Trump. “An important statement by @POTUS about the possibility of providing security for Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during this extreme winter period. Power supply is a foundation of life. We value the efforts of our partners to help us protect lives. Thank you, President Trump! Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented. De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” he wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
{{/usCountry}}Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis
{{/usCountry}}Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis
{{/usCountry}}This development comes as Ukraine is facing power, water, and heating supplies crisis amid a biting cold winter due to Russian strikes. Ukraine’s state weather agency said on Thursday that the region could witness severe drop in temperatures to as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius in coming days.
According to Ukrainian officials, the Russian side has resorted to what they described as “weaponizing winter” since the country’s invasion of Russia in February 2022. In 2025, as many as 2,514 Ukrainian civilians were killed and 12,142 were injured in the ongoing war, which is 31% higher as compared to 2024, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, reported news agency Associated Press.
Russia has been targeting the critical infrastructure of Ukraine, which has left several people across the country grappling to deal with harsh cold without enough power supply. On Wednesday, Zelensky warned that Russia could launch fresh attacks on their energy facilities.
Peace talks to resume on Sunday
On Sunday, the US-aided peace talks between Ukraine and Russia will resume in Abu Dhabi amid Trump’s efforts to put an end to the nearly four-year long war with his peace plan.
Ahead of the peace negotiations, Putin met UAE’s President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Moscow on Thursday.
Even as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continued, at least till Thursday, Trump said during the cabinet meeting that talks have seen a “lot of progress”.
US’ special envoy Steve Witkoff also appeared confident of a truce and told AFP, "And I think that he (Donald Trump) and Vladimir Putin have a friendship, and I think that allows them to talk and to have a relationship that hopefully will help things out here, get to a settlement and save a lot of lives.”
(With inputs from AFP, AP)
