Putin ‘agreed to Ukraine war ceasefire’ after Trump’s request | World | News

Donald Trump claimed he asked Vladimir Putin to stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns for a week and said the Russian President agreed to the request. The US president said: “I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kiev and the cities and towns for a week of this exceptionally cold weather.

“And he agreed to do it. I must say, it was very nice.” Mr. Trump did not say when or how he had this meeting with his Russian counterpart or when the so-called temporary ceasefire would begin. He added: “A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get this.’ And he did. And we’re so glad they did.”

Earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment when asked whether a mutual halt to attacks on energy facilities had been discussed.

It comes after a nighttime attack on Kiev on Wednesday, the latest in a series of Russian attempts to destroy Ukraine’s energy grid in freezing winter temperatures.

The Ukrainian Air Force said more than 100 drones were launched and 18 hits were recorded. Moscow’s continued attacks have led to one of the most severe energy crises and emergency since the start of the war.

The State Emergency Service reported that severe frosts were expected in Ukraine at the beginning of February, with temperatures dropping to -30C in some regions.

However, as they prepared for the second meeting on February 1, they did not make any statement that they would reach a conclusion.

Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian intelligence reports show that Russia is gathering forces for a major air strike. Previous major attacks have involved more than 800 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.

Mr. Zelensky also said the ongoing attacks were discrediting the peace talks. He added: “Every Russian attack does this.”