Ukraine saw a rare overnight lull in attacks on energy infrastructure after President Trump personally urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to pause strikes — but the Kremlin said Friday the brief reprieve will last only through Sunday.
There were no overnight strikes on energy facilities in Ukraine after Trump called on Putin to spare them as frigid temperatures leave civilians in danger of freezing to death, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post to X.
“Over the past night, there were no strikes on energy facilities,” Zelensky wrote.
But that didn’t stop Moscow from continuing to hit other civilian infrastructure across the country.
“Drone attacks on ordinary residential buildings in cities also continue,” the Ukrainian president said. “A ballistic missile was used against the Kharkiv region – civilian production warehouses were damaged, including those of an American company.”
President Trump on Thursday revealed he personally asked Putin to suspend attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy systems for a week during a brutal cold snap that has left millions vulnerable to power outages and heating failures.
Ukrainian, Russian and American officials had also discussed an energy infrastructure cease-fire during their trilateral meeting earlier this month, according to Zelensky.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday confirmed that Russia would maintain a limited cease-fire on heating and power sources.
“President Trump did indeed make a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week until Feb. 1 in order to create favorable conditions for negotiations,” he said.
However, the halt on energy strikes only began Thursday night, as Zelensky said “there were hits specifically on energy infrastructure in several regions” earlier that day.
That means that if the limited cease-fire ends on Sunday, it would last only half as long as Trump requested.
Despite the calmer night for the power grid, Zelensky said Russia continued to intensify attacks on logistics networks and residential areas, including drone strikes on apartment buildings in major cities.
Shahed kamikaze drones hit a district in Zaporizhzhia, while first-person view drone attacks continue “almost around the clock” in Kherson and the Dnipro region west of the Donbas, with heavy damage reported in Nikopol, Zelensky said.
The situation remains “difficult” in the border regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv, Zelensky added.
Despite the pause in targeted energy strikes, Ukraine’s power crisis continues to strain civilians nationwide. Zelensky said 378 multi-story buildings in Kyiv remain without heating, while additional emergency resources are being rushed to the capital.
Officials also flagged urgent needs in Cherkasy in central Ukraine, particularly for homes that rely on electric heating.
Regional conditions were reviewed across Kyiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr, as restoration crews race to stabilize power and heating systems amid sub-freezing temperatures.
While Ukraine’s power grid avoided fresh overnight damage, Zelensky made clear the broader war — and the humanitarian toll — remains intense.
“Thank you to everyone who is helping,” he said. “Glory to Ukraine.”
The post Russia spares Ukraine’s energy grid after Trump push — but only until Sunday, Kremlin says appeared first on New York Post.
