KYIV — Ukrainians woke to another frigid Friday with the possibility that, for now, there could be a halt in Russia’s punishing attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector that have plunged much of the country into cold and darkness. This possibility arose after a call by President Donald Trump.
But Ukrainians’ relief was short-lived when Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that the pause had been only for the capital, Kyiv, and was set to end Sunday, just as temperatures are expected to fall even further.
In televised comments made during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump said he “personally asked” Russian President Vladimir Putin “not to fire into Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week, and Putin agreed to do that.” Trump added that “it was very nice.”
Shortly after, writing on X, Zelensky thanked Trump for the initiative, which he said he expected “to be implemented,” and said if it panned out, Ukraine would refrain from attacking Russia’s energy system.
On Friday, however, Peskov confirmed that while “President Trump made a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week,” that ceasefire had begun last weekend and would end Sunday.
Russian forces last attack on Kyiv was overnight into Saturday, part of a massive bombardment across Ukraine. Typically, after such a large assault, Moscow would require at least a week to move a similar number of missiles and drones into position and launch another comprehensive attack.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy system at least twice this week in locations other than Kyiv, striking facilities belonging to DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, in the Odesa region and Naftogaz, the state oil and gas firm, in western Ukraine.
“The damage is colossal,” DTEK wrote on its Telegram channel on Tuesday about the attack, which took place overnight. “The repair will take a long time to restore the equipment to a working condition.”
On Friday, Ukraine’s Air Force said that Moscow’s forces launched 111 strike drones and one ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight. At least 25 the drones made it through the defenses, but no details were given on what was struck.
In comments released Friday, Zelensky was cautious, saying he saw Trump’s proposal “as an opportunity rather than an agreement.”
“Whether it will work or not, and what exactly will work, I cannot say at this point,” he said in a briefing with journalists. “There is no ceasefire. There is no official agreement on a ceasefire, as is typically reached during negotiations.”
Zelensky said that “if Russia heard the signal from the American side in the same way we did,” then Ukraine would “likely see some results and be able to assess them.” He added that if Russia refrained from targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, “generation facilities or any other energy assets,” then Ukrainian forces would “not strike theirs.”
Russian missiles and drones have wreaked substantial damage on Ukrainian power plants and electrical substations, paralyzing the energy network and leaving millions without heat and power during one of the worst winters in years.
Temperatures in Kyiv and the rest of the country have hovered consistently well below freezing the last weeks, with another cold snap — with lows of minus-9 Fahrenheit (minus-23 Celsius) — predicted in the coming week.
“It’s extraordinary,” Trump said during his Cabinet meeting. “It’s not like cold, it’s extraordinary cold.”
Zelensky said that U.S. officials first suggested the ceasefire during trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week — part of a general push to “create more space for diplomacy.”
“Our negotiating group called me to consult. I said that we would adhere to a reciprocal approach with regard to such steps,” Zelensky said, adding that he supported “any genuine initiatives aimed at de-escalation.”
A Russian academic close to senior diplomats said Moscow was eager to demonstrate to Trump that “it is not the main obstacle on the path to agreement.” Restraint by both sides could create an opening during the talks in Abu Dhabi to discuss “further measures to de-escalate,” the academic said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. The academic added, however, that the brevity of the proposed halt was “not likely to impact the course of the conflict.”
The Washington D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War said on Friday that a possible halt in Moscow’s campaign against Ukraine’s energy system did “not mark a significant Russian concession.”
“Russia continues to reject a long-term ceasefire and has previously offered similar short-term moratoriums to advance its political objectives,” the institute said in a daily report released Friday.
“The Kremlin has previously offered short-term ceasefires as part of a cognitive warfare effort to portray the Kremlin as acting in good faith while rejecting Ukrainian and U.S. calls for a longer or permanent moratorium,” the report said.
Kyiv, with a population of close to 3 million, has withstood five major bombardments this year amid an unusually harsh winter, and hundreds of thousands have been left without heat, water or electricity.
For their part, Kyiv’s forces have steadily bombarded Russia’s oil and gas facilities, which, along with steps to restrict Moscow’s shadow fleet of oil tankers, has greatly reduced the Kremlin’s energy revenue.
Crucially, according to Zelensky, “our air defense units against ballistic strikes are empty — simply empty,” referring to the U.S.-made Patriot missiles that are one of the only ways to shoot down ballistic missiles.
“I know that there will be no electricity, because there are no missiles to intercept them,” he said. “That is the situation I am in.”
The second round of trilateral talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed and significant obstacles remain to reaching a final peace deal.
Moscow is insisting that it be rewarded territory that it has been unable to seize militarily. It also maintains it must be part of any security framework for Ukraine — potentially giving it a veto over any response to future Russian violations.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected a proposed agreement for bilateral security guarantees between the United States and Ukraine, which the two sides said was close to being finalized.
Kyiv considers the security document a key element of a future peace deal and insists it be signed as soon as possible, before a final settlement.
The Trump administration is holding out on signing the document immediately, however. The delay has raised concerns that Washington is using the agreement to pressure Ukraine to make concessions in the peace talks.
Zelensky did not directly address whether Ukraine was being strong-armed. But “if there is some reason to postpone the signing until another issue is resolved, that indicates that, in some way, things are connected,” he said.
After such a brutal war, Ukrainians “need something to rely on” and “the main thing people can rely on is security guarantees,” he said.
Serhii Korolchuk in Kyiv, Catherine Belton in London and Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia, contributed to this report.
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