Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the possibility of a week-long shutdown after Russia’s attack left homes without heat as temperatures plummeted.
Published January 30, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Russia will not attack Kiev and “various” Ukrainian cities for seven days as civilians suffer from lack of heat in the winter cold.
President Zelensky said in a social media post on Thursday that Trump’s remarks that day were “important statements” about “the possibility of providing security to Kiev and other Ukrainian cities during this period of extreme winter.”
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President Zelenskiy said a moratorium on bombings had been discussed by negotiators during recent ceasefire talks in the United Arab Emirates and “we hope that the agreement will be implemented.”
“Detente measures will contribute to real progress towards ending the war,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Trump said early Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a request to halt shelling of the Ukrainian capital Kiev for a week because of the extremely cold temperatures.
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kiev and other cities for a week, and the president agreed,” Trump told the Cabinet, citing “unusual cold” in the region.
The announcement came as Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on the messaging app Telegram on Thursday that 454 homes in the city remained without heat as the Ukrainian capital struggles to restore power to homes following repeated Russian bombings targeting power and heating infrastructure in recent weeks.
Nighttime temperatures are expected to drop to -23 degrees Celsius (-9.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Ukraine’s capital this week.
Russia’s capital Moscow experienced its heaviest snowfall in January in 200 years, the Lomonosov Moscow State University Meteorological Observatory announced on Thursday, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
Russia and Ukraine also exchanged the bodies of soldiers killed in the war on Thursday, officials from both countries confirmed.
Similar exchanges have been agreed upon in previous ceasefire negotiations. However, a breakthrough to end Russia’s nearly four-year war with Ukraine remains elusive.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued to pour cold water on the prospect of a ceasefire on Thursday, saying Russia had not yet seen a 20-point ceasefire plan that he said had been “reworked” by Ukraine and its allies.
Russia’s top diplomat also claimed that Ukraine took advantage of the pause in fighting to “pull” people to the front lines, according to TASS news agency.
