Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: Trump says Putin agreed to ‘one-week ceasefire over Kyiv’ amid brutal chilly
Donald Trump has said he has asked Russian president Vladimir Putin to not attack Ukrainian cities at a time the war-hit nation is experiencing a harsh winter.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump told reporters: “I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this… extraordinary cold,” adding that Putin has “agreed to that”.
“A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’ And he did it. And we’re very happy that they did it,” Trump said.
Kyiv, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week. Temperatures in some areas will drop to -30C, the State Emergency Service warned.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he refused to comment on the issue.
This comes hours after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned of Moscow’s plans of another large-scale barrage despite plans for further US-brokered peace talks at the weekend.
Zelensky and Merz welcome Trump’s limited ceasefire
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and German chancellor Friedrich Merz have welcomed Donal Trump’s limited ceasefire on Kyiv and other cities, calling it “efforts in favour of a truce”.
Zelensky has said he expected the implementation of an agreement by Russia to not fire on Kyiv and other cities for a week because of the “extremely cold” winter weather, as announced by the US president Donald Trump.
“Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented,” Zelensky said. “De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” he said.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the systematic destruction of Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure by Russian attacks. I spoke about this with @ZelenskyyUa on the phone. We welcome the efforts to achieve a ceasefire. Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace,” he said on X.
The German leader said “the systematic and brutal destruction of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure by Russian attacks” was “still ongoing”.
Putin’s troops moving at slowest pace seen for any army in more than 100 years of warfare
Russian forces are advancing at the slowest pace for any army in more than 100 years of warfare, a new assessment has shown.
“In all of its offensives over the last two years, Russia has failed to generate rapid breakthroughs to collapse the Ukrainian front line and allow for sweeping territorial gains,” said the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The US-based think tank compared the average rates of advance for major offensives in Ukraine since 2022 alongside historical benchmarks from the First World War and the Second World War and other wars.
“Russia’s Pokrovsk offensive has advanced slower than Allied forces in the Battle of the Somme in World War I, one of the most grinding offensives of the war. Russia’s offensives around Kupiansk and Chasiv Yar have been even less efficient, moving at mere fractions of the pace of historical campaigns,” the CSIS said.
In stark contrast, French forces advanced around 80 metres a day during the infamously attritional Battle of the Somme in the First World War.
“Despite claims of battlefield momentum in Ukraine, the data shows that Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is increasingly a declining power,” CSIS said in its annual assessment.
Temperatures in Ukraine to hit -30C as crops risk damage
Ukraine will be hit by extremely low temperatures at the beginning of next week, posing a threat to winter crops, according to emergency services and agricultural analysts.
All regions except southern Ukraine will be affected by the freezing conditions between 1 February to 4 February.
“We consider the current cold spell to be extremely dangerous for winter crops across a significant part of Ukraine,” analyst Barva Invest said on Telegram.
Temperatures will plummet to -30C after they dropped to -20Cin early January, easing to above-zero figures this week.
Watch: Trump says Putin agreed to not fire on Kyiv for a week during cold
Zelensky says he expects implementation of agreement not to fire on Kyiv
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he expected the implementation of an agreement by Russia to not fire on Kyiv and other cities for a week because of the “extremely cold” winter weather, as announced by the US president Donald Trump.
“Our teams discussed this in the United Arab Emirates. We expect the agreements to be implemented,” Zelensky said.
“De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” he said.
Trump announced last night that Russian president Vladimir Putin has agreed not to target the Ukrainian capital and other towns for one week as the region experiences frigid temperatures.
Ukraine working with SpaceX to stop Russian drones using Starlink, says Kyiv
Ukraine is working with satellite firm SpaceX to stop Russian drones using Starlink to operate, the country’s defence minister said on Thursday.
Reports suggested that Starlinks had been found on Russian long-range UAVs in Ukraine, which are resistant to traditional signal jamming, allowing the military to manually fly drones into Ukrainian targets.
“We are grateful to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and personally to Elon Musk for the quick response and the start of work on resolving the situation,” Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
Full story: Trump envoy showed ‘troubling lack of knowledge at Ukraine peace talks and could not say when war began’
One of Donald Trump’s senior envoys for Ukraine has sparked alarm after making a series of blunders during crucial peace talks, according to a report.
The talks, set to continue this weekend, are the first between the three countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022 – but the comments have led to fears that inexperience and misunderstanding by US officials could pose a risk to Kyiv.
Among the incorrect statements allegedly made during the meetings are errors about how long the war has been going on, when it started and whether or not the country has a vice president.
“General [Kyrylo] Budanov is now their vice president,” the official is reported to have said during a meeting with reporters, according to the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine does not have a vice president and Budanov has recently been appointed as head of the President’s office.
Temperatures in Ukraine to hit -30C as crops risk damage
Ukraine will be hit by extremely low temperatures at the beginning of next week, posing a threat to winter crops, according to emergency services and agricultural analysts.
All regions except southern Ukraine will be affected by the freezing conditions between 1 February to 4 February.
“We consider the current cold spell to be extremely dangerous for winter crops across a significant part of Ukraine,” analyst Barva Invest said on Telegram.
Temperatures will plummet to -30C after they dropped to -20Cin early January, easing to above-zero figures this week.
Russia not aware of US guarantees agreed with Ukraine, says Lavrov
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that he does not know what security guarantees have been agreed between the US and Ukraine, according to the country’s state media.
President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that a security guarantee agreement was “100 per cent ready” while secretary of state Marco Rubio said that it was dependent on the surrender of the Donbas region
Ukraine is seeking guarantees that would ensure that Russia could not continue to expand into its territory or invade again.
Source: independent.co.uk
