Donald Trump says he personally requested Putin to pause assaults on Kyiv for an sudden purpose
The US President made the surprising claim during a meeting of his Cabinet today – just a day after it was revealed he’d hung a photo of Vladimir Putin in the White House
The US President made a call to Putin – and he seems to have agreed(Image: The White House.)
Donald Trump says he personally asked Vladimir Putin to pause attacks on Kyiv and Ukraine’s towns and cities for a week, because it’s very cold.
“Because of the cold,” Trump said at a Cabinet Meeting today. “Extreme cold. They have the same that we do. I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week. Because of the…it’s not a cold, it’s extraordinarily cold. Record setting cold. Over there too. They’re having the same…it’s a big pile of bad weather, the worst. They said they’ve never experienced weather like that.”
He added: “And I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week and he agreed to do that. And I have to tell you, it was very nice.”
The US President claimed aides had warned him not to “waste a call” because Putin was unlikely to agree.
“He did it, and we’re very happy that they did it. Because on top of everything else it’s not what they need is missiles coming into their towns and cities.”
Temperatures in Kyiv are predicted to plunge as low as -20 degrees next week. Meanwhile, temperatures in Minnesota, where Trump’s ICE invasion is still underway, saw lows of -24 degrees last week.
Trump went on: So I just thought I should say I thought it was a very good thing. And Ukraine almost didn’t believe it. But they were very happy about it.”
It’s unclear when Putin placed the call, or what period the impromptu week-long ceasefire is valid for.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked earlier Thursday whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he refused to comment on the issue.
Trump’s claim comes a day after reporters noticed he had hung a photograph of him and Putin in the White House as part of a refurbishment of the Palm Room.
Kyiv has grappled with severe power shortages this winter.
Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water over the course of the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponising winter.”
Last year was also the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022 as Russia intensified its aerial barrages behind the front line, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country.
The war killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in Ukraine – 31% higher than in 2024, it said.
