Watch: Trump says he personally asked Putin not to attack Kiev amid the extreme cold

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to target the Ukrainian capital of Kiev for a week as the region experiences frigid temperatures.

Watch the clip in the video player above.

The call to stop attacks on the Ukrainian capital comes as Russia bombs the country’s vital infrastructure, leaving many across the country without heat in the depths of winter.

Watch live: Trump holds a Cabinet meeting as the government shutdown deadline approaches

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kiev, cities and towns for a week during this… unusual cold,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

Trump added that Putin “agreed to this,” but there was no confirmation of this from Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked earlier Thursday whether a mutual cessation of strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he declined to comment on the matter.

Trump said he was glad Putin agreed to stop. Kiev is expected to enter an extremely cold zone starting Friday and is expected to continue until next week.

He watches: Trump said he would open all commercial airspace over Venezuela

The Republican US president said about his request from Putin, “Many people said: Don’t miss the call. You won’t understand it.” “And they did. And we’re so glad they did.”

Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack killed three people in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia region overnight, authorities said Thursday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was planning another large-scale barrage despite plans for more US-brokered peace talks at the end of the week.

The attack in Zaporizhia caused a major fire in a residential building, according to emergency services.

Firefighters worked throughout the night to put out fires in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where two people were injured, officials said.

Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate that Russia is gathering forces to launch a major air attack. Previous large attacks, sometimes involving more than 800 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, have targeted the Ukrainian power grid.

Zelensky said the ongoing attacks discredit the peace talks. “Every Russian strike does that,” he said late Wednesday.

Daily Russian bombing of civilian areas behind the nearly 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front line has continued despite international condemnation and attempts to end the fighting nearly four years after Russia launched its devastating full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is working with SpaceX to address reports of alleged use of its Starlink satellite service by Russian attack drones, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Thursday via messaging app Telegram.

He said that his team contacted the American airline run by Elon Musk and “suggested ways to solve the problem.” Starlink is a global Internet network based on about 10,000 satellites orbiting the Earth.

Fedorov thanked Musk and SpaceX President Gwen Shotwell for “responding quickly and starting to work to resolve the situation.”

Musk and SpaceX have sought to steer a precise course in the war.

A year after the invasion, Shotwell said SpaceX was happy to provide the Ukrainians with connectivity “and assist them in their fight for freedom.” At the same time, the company sought to restrict Ukraine’s use of Starlink for military purposes, she added.

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid are depriving people of heat, lighting and running water during the coldest winter in years, and the difficulties are expected to get worse. The state emergency service has warned that severe frost is expected to hit Ukraine in early February, with temperatures in some areas falling to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit).

It is expected that negotiations between the two sides will resume on Sunday, amid doubts about Moscow’s commitment to the settlement.

The European Union’s chief diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, and called Thursday in Brussels for putting more pressure on Moscow to push it to make concessions.

“We see them increasing their attacks on Ukraine because they cannot move on the battlefield. So they are attacking civilians,” Kaja Kallas said of Russia during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers.

She stressed that Europe, which sees its security future at stake in Ukraine, must participate fully in the talks to end the war. The Trump administration has led efforts to reach a settlement over the past year, and European leaders fear their concerns may not be taken into account.

The number of soldiers killed, wounded or missing on both sides during the war could reach 2 million by spring, with Russia sustaining the highest number of troop deaths of any major power in any conflict since World War II, according to an international think tank report published on Tuesday.

Russia has launched more than 6,000 drones into Ukraine over the past month alone, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. He said late Wednesday that Russia was constantly improving its drones and tactics, prompting Ukraine to change its air defense strategy, though he did not provide details of the changes.

Meanwhile, Russia handed over to Ukraine about a thousand bodies of its soldiers killed in the war, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Meanwhile, Russia has received the bodies of 38 of its fallen soldiers, Russian MP Shamsayl Saraliev, who participated in the exchange of bodies of dead soldiers between Russia and Ukraine, told RBC news channel.

Madhani reported from Washington. Camilla Hrabchuk in Kiev, Ukraine, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.