Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed cautious optimism regarding a proposed pause in Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, pending confirmation from Moscow. The announcement came amid extreme cold weather conditions that have hit the war-torn nation, prompting international calls for restraint.
According to reports, US President Donald Trump had personally appealed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to halt strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for a week, citing concerns over the harsh winter weather. While Kremlin officials declined to confirm whether Putin had agreed to Trump's request, there was a noticeable decrease in attacks by both sides overnight.
However, the situation remains uncertain as senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are set to meet in Abu Dhabi this weekend for another round of talks on ceasefire arrangements. Zelenskyy warned that any agreement may be subject to change due to ongoing tensions over possible US strikes on Iran.
The proposal for a pause in bombing comes amid continued diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict, which began last spring but has yet to yield a viable path to peace. Moscow remains insistent on Ukraine ceding control of the entire eastern Donbas region, a demand that Kyiv strongly rejects.
Zelenskyy acknowledged that territorial issues remain a major obstacle to a settlement, stating "we will not give up the Donbas without a fight." Despite this, he is open to exploring alternative arrangements, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from certain areas and the creation of a demilitarised zone.
According to reports, US President Donald Trump had personally appealed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to halt strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for a week, citing concerns over the harsh winter weather. While Kremlin officials declined to confirm whether Putin had agreed to Trump's request, there was a noticeable decrease in attacks by both sides overnight.
However, the situation remains uncertain as senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are set to meet in Abu Dhabi this weekend for another round of talks on ceasefire arrangements. Zelenskyy warned that any agreement may be subject to change due to ongoing tensions over possible US strikes on Iran.
The proposal for a pause in bombing comes amid continued diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict, which began last spring but has yet to yield a viable path to peace. Moscow remains insistent on Ukraine ceding control of the entire eastern Donbas region, a demand that Kyiv strongly rejects.
Zelenskyy acknowledged that territorial issues remain a major obstacle to a settlement, stating "we will not give up the Donbas without a fight." Despite this, he is open to exploring alternative arrangements, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from certain areas and the creation of a demilitarised zone.
And what's with the energy infrastructure thing? Just a fancy way of saying they're trying to strangle Ukraine's economy, right? 
I mean, I get that harsh winters are bad, but come on, can't we focus on something else for once?
What's the play here? Trying to butter him up so he'll agree to a ceasefire? I'm not buying it. This whole thing just feels like a game of chess to me, with Ukraine as the pawn.
. Let's focus on finding real solutions, not just temporary fixes 
. The US asking Russia to chill out is pretty interesting, considering how frosty their relationship has been lately 
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. I'm kinda surprised Zelenskyy is open to alternative arrangements, considering how passionate he was about defending Donbas when things started getting hairy 
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, it's about time Russia stopped bombing Ukraine! I mean, can you imagine having to live through that kinda extreme cold weather 
? The thought of all those innocent people being affected is just... Wow 
. Trump trying to mediate between the two leaders? That's interesting 
. I'm not sure what's more surprising - that Putin agreed to listen or that there are still people in positions of power who care about the human cost of war 
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. I mean, who needs to bomb cities when you can freeze people to death? The fact that Putin might've listened to Trump is just icing on the cake... literally. It'll be interesting to see if this pause holds up, especially with those "tensions" over Iran 
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I mean, can you believe we've been stuck in this war for ages now? The cold weather has really highlighted how brutal it's been for Ukraine. I'm glad Trump stepped in and tried to help, even if the Kremlin wasn't totally transparent about their response. 
Who knows, maybe this pause in bombing will give everyone a chance to cool down and think about what they really want.
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. A pause in bombing sounds like a good start 
there is a noticeable decrease in attacks overnight! Could be a good sign? 
. Will we see some concrete agreements or just more broken promises? 
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... I remember when this war started last spring, I thought it was gonna be over by now 
. But here we are, and it's like Groundhog Day – same situation, different time of year 
... I mean, we're supposed to have peace talks in Abu Dhabi this weekend, but what if they don't go through as planned? What's the plan B? 
anyway back to it, if they can agree on something, that'd be awesome ... 
but seriously, dont get me wrong, ppl in ukraine are dyin over here and i feel for them... its like 1 thing if they r bombin cities but energy infrastructre is a whole diff story... maybe thats the kinda pause zelenskyy wants?
and ukraine's president zelenskyy is like "alrighh we'll give u r territory but dont expect us to just hand it over w/o a fight" 
& ukraine's all like "nope we r not givin up our land" 