US President Donald Trump says Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to not fire on Kyiv for a week due to cold weather.
"I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that," Trump said at a cabinet meeting, citing "extraordinary cold" in the region.
"It was very nice. A lot of people said, 'Don't waste the call, you're not going to get that.' And he did it," Trump added.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Kremlin that Putin has agreed to such a pause.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked earlier on Thursday whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he declined to comment on the issue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he expected the implementation of a deal by Russia not to fire on Kyiv and other cities for a week because of winter weather.
"Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented," Zelenskiy wrote in English on the X social media platform.
"De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war.
Ukraine, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting on Friday that is expected to last into next week.
Temperatures in some areas will drop to minus 30C, the State Emergency Service warned.
with AP
