Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says Putin agreed to ‘one-week ceasefire over Kyiv’ amid brutal cold

Donald Trump said he has asked Russian president Vladimir Putin to not attack Ukrainian cities at a time the war-hit nation is experiencing a harsh winter.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump told reporters: “I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this… extraordinary cold,” adding that Putin has “agreed to that”.

“A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’ And he did it. And we’re very happy that they did it,” Trump said.

Kyiv, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week. Temperatures in some areas will drop to -30C, the State Emergency Service warned.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he refused to comment on the issue.

This comes hours after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned of Moscow’s plans of another large-scale barrage despite plans for further US-brokered peace talks at the weekend.

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