Ukraine is bracing for brutal weather as Trump says Putin agreed to halt
power grid attacks
[January 30, 2026]
By SUSIE BLANN
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine awaited signs Friday that Russia is abiding
by a commitment that U.S. President Donald Trump said it made to
temporarily halt attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, as Kyiv and other
regions are gripped by the bitterest winter weather for years.
Trump said late Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had
agreed to his request not to target the Ukrainian capital and other
towns for one week, as the region experiences frigid temperatures that
have brought widespread hardship to civilians.
Trump didn't say when the call with Putin took place or when the
moratorium would go into effect, and the White House didn't immediately
respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of any
limited pause. There was no immediate confirmation from the Kremlin that
Putin has committed to the move.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was skeptical about Putin’s
readiness for such a step as Russia’s all-out invasion, which began on
Feb. 24, 2022, approaches its four-year anniversary next month with no
signs that Moscow is willing to reach a peace settlement despite a
U.S.-led push to end the fighting.
“I do not believe that Russia wants to end the war. There is a great
deal of evidence to the contrary,” Zelenskyy said Thursday in comments
made public on Friday.
Drone and missile attacks continue
He said that Ukraine is ready to halt its attacks on Russia’s energy
infrastructure, including oil refineries, if Moscow also stops its
bombardment of the Ukrainian power grid and other energy assets.
While there was no official word on whether those conciliatory steps had
been taken, the grinding war of attrition dragged on.
Russia fired 111 drones and one ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight,
injuring at least three people, the Ukrainian Air Force said. The
Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that its air defenses
overnight shot down 18 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, as
well as the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.
Bitter cold is forecast for Ukraine
Kyiv, which recently has endured severe power shortages, 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 minus 30 degrees
Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), the State Emergency Service said.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency
services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian
attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ukrainian
Emergency Service via AP)
Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat, light and
running water over the course of the war, in a strategy that
Ukrainian officials describe as “weaponizing winter.”
The possibility of a respite in energy sector attacks was discussed
at last weekend’s meeting in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United
Arab Emirates, between envoys of Ukraine, Russia and the United
States, Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said that he had agreed to adhere to a “reciprocal
approach” on energy assaults.
“If Russia does not strike us, we will … take corresponding steps,”
he told reporters.
Further talks were expected on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, but that could
change because of a spike in tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
No agreement on a ceasefire, Zelenskyy says
It was unclear whether and how any partial truce might work amid
ongoing wider fighting and mistrust between the two countries.
“There is no ceasefire. There is no official agreement on a
ceasefire, as is typically reached during negotiations,” Zelenskyy
said. “There has been no direct dialogue and no direct agreements on
this matter between us and Russia.”
Ukraine had originally posited the idea for a limited energy
ceasefire at talks in Saudi Arabia last year, Zelenskyy said, but
the proposal gained no traction.
Disagreement over what happens to occupied Ukrainian territory, and
Moscow’s demand for possession of territory it hasn’t captured, are
a key issue holding up a peace deal, according to Zelenskyy.
“We have repeatedly said that we are ready for compromises that lead
to a real end to the war, but that are in no way related to changes
to Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy said. “The American
side understands this and says that there is a compromise solution
regarding a free economic zone.”
However, Ukraine demands control over such a zone, he said.
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