Quieter night in Ukraine after Trump said Putin agreed to stop Russia

Kiev— Ukrainians woke up Friday morning to a familiar wartime ritual: trying to figure out what hope a proclamation from Washington could really bring after nearly four years of full-scale invasion and relentless airstrikes by Russia.

During a Cabinet meeting Thursday night in Washington, President Trump said he had “personally asked President Putin not to fire on kyiv and the various cities for a week, and he agreed to do so.”

It seemed that, at least overnight, any commitments Russian leader Vladimir Putin made were having some effect. While the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had launched more than 100 drones in frontline regions on Friday morning, kyiv was not the target.

Repeated Russian attacks this month on Kyiv and other major cities in Ukraineoften in energy infrastructure, have left 80% of the country dealing with long power outages, according to Ukraine’s national power grid operator, UkrEnergo. It has been a devastating tactic for Ukrainian civilians as temperatures remain below freezing.

Trump told reporters Thursday that he had asked Putin to stop attacking Ukrainian towns and cities specifically “because of the cold, the extreme cold.”

“We’re very glad they did it, because on top of everything else, that’s not what they need: missiles coming to their towns and cities,” Trump said, calling it “a very, very good thing” and adding that Ukrainian officials almost “didn’t believe it, but they were very happy about it, because they’re fighting hard.”

It is forecast to be a particularly cold week in the Ukrainian capital, with temperatures as low as -9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Earlier this week, 15% of kyiv’s residential buildings were without heat, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Neither Ukrainian nor Russian officials confirmed any formal agreement between the countries to halt attacks over the next week, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude Thursday night, telling reporters that “if Russia does not attack us, we… will take appropriate measures.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that President Trump had asked Putin “to refrain from attacking kyiv” until February 1, suggesting the call between the leaders may have taken place days ago, as Trump referred Thursday to a one-week engagement. Trump on Thursday did not say when he spoke with Putin or provide more details about the timeline he had discussed with the Russian leader.

Representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for another round of trilateral talks, but Zelenskyy said the date or location could change.

He reiterated Ukraine’s support for any Initiatives to de-escalate the war.and said Kyiv had consistently demonstrated that position since a round of negotiations held in Saudi Arabia beginning of last year.

“If Russia does not attack us, we will not take appropriate measures,” Zelensky said. “That’s all, and we have also talked about this principle before. At this stage, this is an initiative of the American side and personally of the President of the United States. We can consider it as an opportunity rather than an agreement. Whether it will work or not, and what exactly will work, I cannot say at this moment. There is no ceasefire. There is no official agreement on a ceasefire, as is normally reached during negotiations.”