The clearest picture as to what was or was not agreed to between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin comes from actions on the ground in the last 24 hours. Russia appears to be carrying out military actions as usual, with the exception of not bombing Kiev. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Jan. 30 that it struck military targets inside Ukraine, including energy facilities used to support the army. However, there were no strikes on Kiev last night or today.
This morning Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated: “I can say that President Trump did indeed make a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kiev for a week until Feb. 1 in order to create favorable conditions for negotiations.” It remains unclear whether there are to be only 2-3 days of a pause, or whether a week is actually involved somehow. Peskov declined to offer additional details about the arrangement, including whether Kiev made any commitments for reciprocity, whether the agreement stretched to other cities in Ukraine, or whether the pause will encompass all strikes, or only those targeting energy infrastructure.
