Russian strongman Vladimir Putin reneged on his deal with President Trump to briefly pause the war in Ukraine, killing at least five and injuring more than a dozen in strikes across the battered country overnight into Saturday.
Moscow continued its relentless assault on Ukraine — despite a personal plea from Trump to suspend fighting for one week — while the war-torn country and its decimated energy infrastructure go through a deadly cold snap that’s left millions vulnerable to power outages.
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. “It’s extraordinary cold — record-setting cold over there.”
Rescue workers extinguish a fire in a Kharkiv factory after a Russian missile strike. Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Trump said the Russian dictator had agreed to his request — calling Moscow’s response “very nice.”
But Putin’s troops launched 85 drones against Ukraine into Saturday — 55 of which were Shahed-type drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Telegram.
Kyiv was spared from the latest attack, but the contested frontline region of Donetsk was badly hit. Two people were killed in the Russian strikes that damaged homes, cars and heating infrastructure, and three others wounded, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported.
Close to 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes, including 35 children, he said.
In Kherson, in the south of the country, two people were killed, and 10 others injured, including a 14-year-old boy, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
The strikes damaged 14 high-rise buildings and 5 homes, he added.
Trump asked Putin to stop bombing Ukrainian cities while the war-torn country experiences a deadly cold snap. AFP via Getty Images
Moscow tried to spin the deal on Friday claiming that it had only meant Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, was off limits — letting reporters believe it was using “Kyiv” to denote the whole country, when it was only referring to the city.
“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,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow Friday.
Asked to confirm that Putin had agreed, he said: “Yes of course, there was a personal request from President Trump.”
In all, Putin’s men launched 85 drones against Ukraine overnight into Saturday. AFP via Getty Images
Several regions across Ukraine faced emergency blackouts Saturday after a major nuclear grid overloaded, while temperatures plunged to -13.
In the Sumy region, a 27-year-old woman was killed by a FPV drone and a 63-year-old woman injured, during raids that lasted more than 14 hours, according to the regional military administration.
More than a hundred people were evacuated from border communities there in recent days, as the authorities warned that even returning for belongings was fatal.
“Due to constant enemy shelling, life in these territories is virtually impossible. Evacuation today is a real opportunity to protect yourself and your loved ones,” the regional military administration urged.
“When people return to dangerous communities – to visit the farm, pick up things…. such trips pose a mortal threat.”
“Russian troops are intensively using drones near the border and deliberately hitting civilians.”
Zelensky suggested trilateral talks planned for Sunday are likely being postponed. AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, a high-powered US delegation said it was “encouraged” at the prospect of peace Saturday, after meeting with Russian envoy Kirill Dimitriev in Miami.
“Dmitriev held productive and constructive meetings as part of the US mediation effort toward advancing a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict,” special envoy Steve Witkoff said of the meeting also attended by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US were supposed to take place Sunday in Abu Dhabi, but without offering details, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that was no longer the case.
“We are in constant communication with the American side and are expecting specific details from them regarding further meetings,” Zelensky said during his nightly video address Saturday.
“We are counting on meetings next week and are preparing for them.”
The three sides last held talks a week ago in Abu Dhabi.
With Post Wires