KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine waited for signs on Friday that Russia is abiding by a commitment that U.S. President Donald Trump said it made to temporarily halt attacks on Ukraine's power grid, as Kyiv and other regions are gripped by one of the most bitter winters in years.
Trump said late Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to his request not to target the Ukrainian capital and other places for one week, as the region experiences frigid 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, adding that Putin has “agreed to that.”
Trump didn't say when the call with Putin took place or when the moratorium would go into effect, and the White House didn't immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of any limited pause.
A bitter winter of war
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Friday that Trump “made a personal request” to Putin to stop targeting Kyiv for a week until Feb. 1 “in order to create favorable conditions for negotiations,” Peskov said.
The mention of Feb. 1 was confusing since that is only two days away — not a week. Also, the cold weather is expected to get worse next week, with temperatures dropping even further.
Asked if Moscow agreed to Trump’s proposal, Peskov said, “Yes, of course.” But he refused to answer further questions about whether the agreement covered only energy infrastructure or all aerial strikes, and when the halt on strikes on Kyiv was supposed to start.
Over the past week Russia has struck Ukrainian energy assets in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and northeastern Kharkiv. It also hit the Kyiv region on Jan. 28, killing two people and injuring four.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was skeptical about Putin's readiness for such a concession as Russia's all-out invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, approaches its four-year anniversary next month with no signs 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 in comments made public on Friday.
Drone and missile attacks continue
He said that 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.
While there was no official word on whether those conciliatory steps had been taken, the grinding war of attrition dragged on.
Russia fired 111 drones and one ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, injuring at least three people, the Ukrainian Air Force said. The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, 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 is forecast for Ukraine
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.
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.”
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.
Zelenskyy said 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.
Further talks were expected on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, but that could change because of a spike in tensions between the United States and Iran.
No agreement on a ceasefire, Zelenskyy says
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.
“We have repeatedly said that we are ready for compromises that lead to a real end to the war, but that are in no way related to changes to Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy said. “The American side understands this and says that there is a compromise solution regarding a free economic zone.”
However, Ukraine demands control over such a zone, he said.
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