Ukraine Faces Deep Freeze As Truce Pauses Attacks

As Ukraine endures one of its harshest winters in recent memory, a fragile pause in attacks on energy infrastructure has brought a glimmer of hope—albeit a precarious one—to millions facing sub-zero temperatures without reliable heat or power. The weeklong halt, reportedly brokered by former U.S. President Donald Trump, comes as both Ukraine and Russia continue to wage a brutal conflict that shows no sign of abating elsewhere on the battlefield.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced late Friday that, starting that night, both sides would refrain from targeting each other’s energy facilities. “In all our regions, from Friday night, there were indeed no strikes on energy facilities. Almost none. Except for the Donetsk region, where there was one strike on gas infrastructure – an aerial bomb hit,” Zelenskyy stated in his nightly video address, as reported by Reuters. The pause, he explained, was a vital measure as temperatures in Kyiv and across the country plunged to as low as -23 degrees Celsius (-9.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with forecasts predicting drops to -30C in the days ahead.

Yet even this limited reprieve is fraught with tension and uncertainty. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Moscow had agreed to halt attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid—but only until Sunday, February 1. “President [Donald] Trump did indeed make a personal request to President [Vladimir] Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week until February 1 in order to create favourable conditions for negotiations,” Peskov said, according to reports from The Guardian and BBC. Trump himself underscored the personal nature of the intervention, telling his cabinet, “I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week and he agreed to do that.”

Despite the pause, the situation on the ground remains dire. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 253 apartment buildings in the capital still lacked heating as of Friday, with many residents lining up for free hot meals or seeking shelter in metro stations and restaurants to escape the bitter cold. Images shared by news agencies showed bundled-up citizens huddling for warmth, a stark reminder of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The British Ministry of Defence, in its latest intelligence update, noted the full scope of the weeklong pause in attacks remains unclear, and Ukrainians remain skeptical of Russia’s intentions.

Elsewhere, the violence has not abated. In Ukraine’s Kherson region, Russian forces attacked a minibus, killing the 48-year-old driver and injuring five others, two of them seriously, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. The region has seen relentless drone, missile, and artillery strikes, resulting in multiple civilian deaths, including a 47-year-old woman near Novoosinove. Russian attacks on January 29 killed six people in central and southern Ukraine, with fatalities reported in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Kryvyi Rig, emergency services told The Guardian.

Ukrainian forces have also faced a barrage of drone and missile attacks. The Ministry of Defence reported that Russian forces fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile and launched 111 drones overnight and into Friday morning, with Ukrainian air defenses managing to shoot down about 80 of them. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that the railway infrastructure was targeted seven times in 24 hours, further disrupting vital logistics and civilian movement.

The battlefield remains fluid and fiercely contested. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed to have seized the Ukrainian village of Ternuvate in the Zaporizhia region, while Russian state media reported the capture of Richne in Zaporizhia and Berestok in Donetsk. Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState noted Russian advances in Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Zaporizhia, highlighting a shift in Russian tactics from energy infrastructure to logistics and residential areas. “There were no strikes on energy facilities last night, but yesterday afternoon our energy infrastructure in several regions was hit. We are now observing a shift by the Russian army toward strikes on logistics,” Zelenskyy told The Independent.

On the diplomatic front, Zelenskyy has invited President Putin to Kyiv for talks, adding, “if he dares,” but firmly ruled out traveling to Moscow or Belarus for negotiations. Meanwhile, a planned second round of three-way peace talks involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi may be delayed, with Zelenskyy citing shifting U.S. attention to developments with Iran.

Calls for escalation have grown louder in Moscow. State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on Telegram, “State Duma deputies insist on the use of more powerful weapons – ‘weapons of retribution’. And the achievement of the goals of the special military operation.” Such rhetoric has alarmed Western officials and further complicated efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire.

The international community remains deeply concerned about the broader ramifications of the war. The United Nations nuclear watchdog’s board of governors convened to discuss nuclear safety in Ukraine, with several countries expressing “growing concern” over volatile conditions at Ukrainian power plants after recent attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency highlighted that damage to energy infrastructure threatens the safe operation of nuclear facilities—a chilling prospect given the country’s nuclear history.

Amid the ongoing conflict, Ukraine is also working with SpaceX to prevent Russia from exploiting the Starlink satellite network to guide attack drones. Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Elon Musk for their rapid response and efforts to resolve the issue. China, observing the conflict, has called for the development of its own satellite constellations, noting the “decisive advantage” Kyiv has gained from such technology.

Human rights abuses continue to cast a dark shadow over the war. Ukrainian officials and the Institute for the Study of War have reported an increase in extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners-of-war since late 2024, including the execution of border guards who surrendered after a cross-border attack in Chernihiv Oblast. Meanwhile, the Kherson occupation administration confirmed the forcible transfer of nearly 600 children to camps in Russia’s Adygea Republic in 2025, a practice legal experts classify as a war crime and observers view as an effort to indoctrinate Ukrainian youth.

The economic fallout is also mounting. The European Union has blacklisted Russia over money laundering risks, a move that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “will slow down and increase the costs of transactions with Russian banks.” The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has vowed to use “all available means” to defend vessels sailing under Russian flags after a suspected shadow fleet oil tanker was intercepted by the French navy and taken to Marseille-Fos.

As the short-term ceasefire on energy infrastructure teeters, Ukraine races to bolster its short-range drone defenses and restore power to its citizens. The coming days will test the resolve of both sides and the durability of diplomatic overtures. For ordinary Ukrainians, the hope for warmth and safety remains as fragile as the pause itself.