President Donald Trump said he called President Putin to stop firing on Ukraine during freezing weather, with the Russian leader agreeing. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
"I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that," Trump said. "And I have to tell you, I was very nice. A lot of people said, don't waste that call. You're not going to get that. And he did it. And we're very happy that they did it."
Trump added that the agreement was a "very good thing."
Russian strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, have hobbled the city's energy infrastructure in recent weeks, with Reuters reporting Monday that more than 1,300 apartment buildings in Ukraine's capital have been without heat in the chilling temperatures. The strikes also have left much of the population without electricity and running water.
Witkoff said Thursday during the Cabinet meeting that negotiations have moved along productively and that the people of Ukraine are "hopeful and expecting that we're going to deliver a peace deal sometime soon."
Witkoff and fellow administration envoy Jared Kushner joined trilateral peace talks earlier in January with Ukraine and Russia as the nations inch toward a hopeful peace deal.
WITKOFF AND KUSHNER SCHEDULED TO MEET PUTIN IN MOSCOW
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and European leaders pose for a photo during talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lisi Niesner/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A monthly chart of the weather in Kyiv, Ukraine, shows it has been brutally cold similar to temperatures rocking many parts of the U.S., as winter storm Fern careened across much of the United States Saturday and Sunday. The month of January in Kyiv, Ukraine, shows the highest temperature reaching 34° Fahrenheit and the lowest hitting -5° Fahrenheit, according to weather data.
The war in Ukraine has raged since the Biden administration as Russia looks to take hold of the nation and expand its footprint in Europe. The war will notch its four-year anniversary Feb. 24.
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Trump campaigned in part on ending the war in Ukraine, arguing it never would have unfolded if he had been re-elected during the 2020 campaign cycle.
The president has noted that the war in Ukraine has been more difficult to solve than he anticipated, while touting he has ended eight other wars since he was sworn back into the Oval Office just more than one year ago.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-putin-agreed-halt-kyiv-strikes-one-week-amid-brutal-cold