Trump says Putin agreed to one-week temporary halt on Ukraine attacks after direct phone call

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said on Thursday, January 29, that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to temporarily halt attacks on Ukraine’s capital and other cities for one week following a direct phone request.

Trump said the request was made due to extreme cold conditions affecting the region, which have strained Ukraine’s energy and heating infrastructure.

The president announced the development during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, though Russian officials have not publicly confirmed the agreement. The pause, if implemented, would come amid continued fighting and recent deadly strikes across Ukraine.

Trump says Putin agreed to pause strikes amid extreme cold

Trump said he personally asked Putin to refrain from targeting Kyiv and other population centers for one week as Ukraine experiences what he described as unusually severe winter conditions. “I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns … for a week,” Trump said. “It’s extraordinary. It’s … record-setting over there.”

Trump said Putin agreed to the request despite skepticism from others ahead of the call. “He agreed to do that, and I have to tell you, people said, ‘Don’t waste the call, you’re not going to get that’ and he did it, and we’re very happy that he did,” Trump said.

The president repeated the claim later during the meeting, emphasizing that the request was tied specifically to weather conditions. “It’s not just like cold, it’s extraordinary cold, record setting cold over there,” Trump said. There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow. 

The reported pause comes as Ukraine braces for another stretch of frigid temperatures beginning Friday and expected to last into next week. Kyiv and other cities have struggled with electricity and heating shortages after repeated Russian attacks on power facilities throughout the winter. As recently as Tuesday, Russian strikes killed at least eight people in Ukraine, according to local officials.

Witkoff signals peace deal as fighting continues

Speaking during the same Cabinet meeting, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war were progressing and suggested that a peace agreement could be reached in the near future. 

“We have a security protocol agreement that's largely finished, a prosperity agreement that's largely, largely finished,” Witkoff said. “And I think the people of Ukraine are now hopeful and expecting that we're going to deliver a peace deal sometime soon.”

The White House did not provide additional details about how the reported pause would be monitored or enforced, nor whether Ukraine was asked to take reciprocal steps. It remains unclear whether the alleged agreement applies only to Kyiv or to other cities and towns nationwide.

Still, Witkoff said the administration believes momentum toward a broader agreement is building, raising expectations for a possible diplomatic breakthrough as the conflict continues into its third year.