Russia agrees to Trump's request to halt strikes on Kyiv until February 1

(FILES) US President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the end of a joint press conference after participating in a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)

Russia agreed to US President Trump’s request to pause strikes on Kyiv until February 1, citing extreme cold and humanitarian concerns. Moscow framed the move as a diplomatic gesture to enable negotiations, with attacks on Kyiv notably reduced this week.

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Russia on Friday said it had agreed to a request from US President Donald Trump to temporarily halt strikes on Kyiv for a week, until February 1, a move that Moscow framed as a step to facilitate diplomatic engagement.

Trump said he made the appeal due to the “extreme cold” gripping Ukraine, while the Kremlin described it as an effort to create space for negotiations between the two sides. Neither Washington nor Moscow specified when the request was formally conveyed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the appeal came directly from the US president.

“I can say that President Trump did indeed make a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week until February 1 in order to create favourable conditions for negotiations," Peskov said.

Peskov did not reference weather conditions, instead characterising the pause as a diplomatic gesture.

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months have left large parts of Kyiv without heating during one of the harshest winters in years. Ukrainian officials have warned that temperatures could plunge to minus 30C in the coming days, with the coldest period expected after February 1.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told a White House cabinet meeting that he personally intervened to seek a temporary halt to strikes on Kyiv and surrounding towns, citing humanitarian concerns linked to the cold.

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week," the US president said.

Ukrainian authorities have reported a notable reduction in missile and drone attacks on the capital this week. Kyiv has been a regular target since the start of the war nearly four years ago, with the last major Russian strike on the city occurring during the night of January 23 to 24.