Moscow has halted air strikes on Kyiv until February 1 upon US President Donald Trump’s request as Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a third round of trilateral talks with US delegation in Abu Dhabi, the UAE this weekend.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday that Moscow had agreed to “a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week until Feb. 1, as a way to create more hospitable conditions for negotiations.”
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also confirmed on Friday that his army would suspend strikes on Russian energy infrastructure if Russia did the same. He also thanked Trump for negotiating the temporary ceasefire, underlining that the halt in airstrikes during below zero temperatures could protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, describing the power supply as a “foundation of life”. Earlier on Thursday, Trump said while addressing a Cabinet meeting that Putin agreed to a week-long pause in attacks on major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. He did not clarify when the conversation between him and the Russian leader took place.
The development came as Russia scaled up trikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity and heating. On Friday morning, Ukraine’s Air Force reported barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks across the country overnight.
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