Kremlin confirms Russia paused Ukraine strikes at Trump’s request
Russia has agreed to partially suspend long-range strikes on Ukrainian targets at the request of US President Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed.
Trump previously said he had personally asked President Vladimir Putin for such restraint due to the unusually cold weather in Ukraine, which adds additional strain to the country’s energy system.
The weeklong moratorium is to last until February 1 and is meant to “create favorable conditions for negotiations,” Peskov told journalists on Friday. He declined to offer additional details about the arrangement, including whether Kiev made any commitments for reciprocity.
Ukraine has been targeting the Russian energy sector with kamikaze drones for months, claiming that the economic damage this cause will weaken Russia and make it more pliable at peace talks. The Russian military says its retaliatory strikes are meant to degrade Ukrainian weapons production and military logistics. Several large Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, experienced major power and heating outages this month, as the degradation of the energy system coincided with severe cold.
Last week, Russian, Ukrainian and US officials held for the first time trilateral talks aimed at winding down the almost four-year-long conflict. Previously Americans used shuttle diplomacy to encourage de-escalation. The talks in Abu Dhabi focused on security issues, as Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky keeps rejecting some of the key Russian conditions for peace.
Moscow normally declines to publicly comment about details of sensitive talks, arguing that Ukraine-style “megaphone diplomacy” is counterproductive. Commenting on the Ukrainian leader’s latest rejection of compromise, Peskov said the “dynamics of the frontline speaks for itself,” referring to consistent Russian progress on the battlefield.
