On Thursday, January 29th, during a White House cabinet meeting, President Trump announced that he had successfully persuaded Russian President Putin to reach a humanitarian agreement. In the upcoming week, Russian military forces will cease the bombardment of Ukrainian towns facing extreme cold weather, as reported by Epoch Times on January 30, 2026.
“I personally requested President Putin to refrain from firing upon Kyiv and other towns in Ukraine for a week, and he has agreed,” stated President Trump. He described the Ukrainian leadership’s reaction to this news as “almost unbelievable” but expressed great joy at the commitment that would provide respite for the people amidst freezing weather.
Prior to this agreement, Trump had expressed strong dissatisfaction with Russia’s continuous intense attacks, even publicly calling out on social media, “Vladimir Putin, stop it!” He voiced that such attacks were extremely ill-timed and seriously disrupted the negotiation process for peace agreements.
Despite this commitment, the reality remains grim. According to reports from Agence France-Presse, on the same Thursday when Trump announced this news, Russian attacks within Ukraine claimed the lives of six individuals. In the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, an apartment building caught fire due to a drone attack, resulting in three fatalities.
Reflecting on this discrepancy, The Wall Street Journal cited several military decision-making experts familiar with the Russian side, pointing out significant discrepancies in the interpretation of “cease bombardment.” While the U.S. expects Russia to completely halt missile and drone strikes on densely populated areas and infrastructure in Ukraine, Russia may only pause “strategic strikes” on major cities like Kyiv but retain the right to conduct “precision bombings” on frontline military targets or perceived “hostile strongholds.”
Ukraine is currently experiencing temperatures dropping below freezing across the country. With energy facilities recently subjected to intensive bombings, millions of people are facing heating and power outages. President Zelensky of Ukraine approaches Putin’s commitment cautiously, citing intelligence warnings that Russia might just be using this time to regroup and deplete Ukrainian air defense missiles, preparing for a large-scale assault on energy facilities in the next wave of attacks.
Zelensky emphasized on Telegram, “Those who truly desire peace must ensure that Russia is preparing to end the war, not preparing for a new large-scale attack.”
Despite the ongoing conflict, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff has shown great confidence in the progress of negotiations. He revealed that the core framework covering “security agreements” and “prosperity agreements” among the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine has been essentially completed.
The negotiations facilitated by Washington have now entered a critical phase, with the next round of three-way high-level talks scheduled to resume in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, February 1st. At that time, representatives from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine will engage in the final critical discussions on territorial boundaries, demilitarized economic zones, and international oversight mechanisms.