Ukrainian rescuers deploy tents at a heating point in Kyiv, Ukraine, 25 January 2026, amid the Russian invasion. Photo: EPA/MAXYM MARUSENKO
US President Donald Trump has said Vladimir Putin agreed to a temporary halt in Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, following a personal appeal made during a previously undisclosed phone call between the two leaders.
On Thursday evening, Trump said in a press briefing that he had “personally asked” Putin to stop firing on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during a period of extreme cold expected in the coming week, which he termed a “big pile of bad weather”.
“And he agreed to do it. I have to tell you, it was very nice,” Trump said during a White House press briefing.
The temporary hiatus in energy strikes was welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who suggested that the measure had previously been discussed in last weekend’s US-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi, though he framed it as no more than a “possibility.”
“Power supply is a foundation of life. We value the efforts of our partners to help us protect lives,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “Thank you, President Trump!”
“The situation is unfolding overnight and the reality at our energy facilities and in our cities will reflect this in the coming days,” he added later.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov confirmed that Russia would refrain from striking Kyiv until Sunday, state-affiliated business outlet Vedomosti reported.
“Trump made a personal request to President Vladimir Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week, until February 1, in order to create favorable conditions for negotiations,” he said.
On Thursday morning, prior to Trump’s announcement, Kremlin officials had declined to comment on whether an energy ceasefire had been negotiated during talks in Abu Dhabi.
Throughout the day, several Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels appeared to make similar claims that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to a moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes.
This included Russian pro-war blogger Vladimir Romanov, who said that Russian strikes against “all objects in Kyiv and the Kyiv region”, and “all infrastructure facilities throughout Ukraine” could be suspended.
Similar reports appeared on Ukrainian Telegram channels, with open-source intelligence outlet Supernova+ saying the moratorium would remain in effect until Tuesday.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to meet for a second round of talks in the UAE on Sunday. According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US may be present at these discussions, but in a more limited fashion than the previous round, without the participation of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
