Trump claims Putin agreed to temporary halt in energy attacks on Ukraine, but terms are unclear

KYIV, Ukraine — The terms of a Russian commitment to U.S. President Donald Trump to temporarily halt its bombardment of Ukraine during one of the country's bleakest winters in years remained unclear Friday, as Ukrainians braced for even worse conditions to come next week.

Trump said late Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a temporary pause in targeting Kyiv and other places as the region experiences freezing temperatures that have brought widespread hardship to civilians.

''I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this ... extraordinary cold,'' Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Putin has ''agreed to that,'' he said, without elaborating on when the request to the Russian leader was made.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of any limited pause.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Friday that Trump ''made a personal request'' to Putin to stop targeting Kyiv until Feb. 1 ''in order to create favorable conditions for negotiations.''

The mention of Feb. 1 was confusing since that is only two days away. Also, the cold weather is forecast to get much worse from Sunday, with temperatures dropping even further and making the time frame for a pause in attacks hard to understand.

Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat, light and running water over the course of the war, in a strategy that Ukrainian officials describe as ''weaponizing winter.''

‘Evidence to the contrary'

Russia struck Ukrainian energy assets in several regions of Ukraine on Thursday but there were no strikes on those facilities overnight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday.

In a post on social media, Zelenskyy also noted that Russia has turned its attention to targeting Ukrainian logistics networks and that Russian drones and missiles hit residential areas of Ukraine overnight, as they have most nights during the war.

Trump framed Putin's acceptance as a concession. But Zelenskyy was skeptical as Russia's invasion approaches its fourth anniversary on Feb. 24 with no sign that Moscow is willing to reach a peace settlement despite a U.S.-led push to end the fighting.

''I do not believe that Russia wants to end the war. There is a great deal of evidence to the contrary,'' Zelenskyy said Thursday. Ukraine is ready to halt its attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, if Moscow also stops its bombardment of the Ukrainian power grid and other energy assets, he said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses overnight shot down 18 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.

Bitter cold forecast

Forecasters say Kyiv, which recently endured severe power shortages, will see a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week. Temperatures in some areas will drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), the State Emergency Service said.

The possibility of a respite in energy sector attacks was discussed at last weekend's meeting in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, between envoys of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, Zelenskyy said, adding that he had agreed to adhere to a ''reciprocal approach'' on energy assaults.

''If Russia does not strike us, we will … take corresponding steps,'' he told reporters.

‘We are ready for compromises'

It was unclear whether and how any partial truce might work amid ongoing wider fighting and mistrust between the two countries.

''There is no ceasefire. There is no official agreement on a ceasefire, as is typically reached during negotiations,'' Zelenskyy said. ''There has been no direct dialogue and no direct agreements on this matter between us and Russia.''

Ukraine had originally proposed a limited energy ceasefire at talks in Saudi Arabia last year, Zelenskyy said, but it gained no traction.

Disagreement over what happens to occupied Ukrainian territory, and Moscow's demand for possession of territory it hasn't captured, are a key issue holding up a peace deal, according to Zelenskyy.

Ukraine demands control over such a zone, he said.

___