Kyiv — Ukrainians awoke Friday morning to a familiar ritual of war: trying to figure out what hope a proclamation from Washington might really bring after nearly four years of Russia’s all-out invasion and relentless airstrikes.

During a cabinet meeting late Thursday in Washington, President Trump said he “personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kiev and various cities for a week, and he agreed to do that.”

At least overnight, what Russian leader Vladimir Putin took over seemed to have an effect. Although Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched more than 100 drones at frontline areas on Friday morning, Kiev was not targeted.

It repeats itself Russian attacks this month on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian citiesoften on energy infrastructure, has left 80% of the country struggling with prolonged power outages, according to Ukraine’s national electricity grid operator UkrEnergo. It was a devastating tactic for Ukrainian civilians, as temperatures remain below freezing.

Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday that he had asked Putin to stop attacking Ukrainian towns and cities specifically “because of the cold, the extreme cold”.

“We’re very happy that they did that, because on top of that, that’s not what they need, missiles coming into their cities and towns,” Mr. Trump said, calling it a “very, very good thing” and adding that Ukrainian officials almost “didn’t believe it, but they were very happy about it, because they’re fighting hard.”

It is predicted to be a particularly cold week in the Ukrainian capital, with temperatures dropping as low as -9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Earlier this week, 15% of residential buildings in Kyiv were without heating, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said.

Neither Ukrainian nor Russian officials have confirmed any formal agreement between the countries to end the strikes over the next week, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude on Thursday night and told reporters that, “if Russia does not strike us, we will … take appropriate steps.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that President Trump had asked Putin “to refrain from attacking Kiev” until February 1, suggesting the conversation between the leaders may have taken place several days ago, as Mr Trump on Thursday spoke of a one-week commitment. Mr. Trump did not say Thursday when he spoke with Putin, nor did he provide any additional details about the time frame he discussed with the Russian leader.

Representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the US are expected to meet in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for another round of trilateral talks, but Zelenskyy said the date or venue could change.

He reiterated Ukraine’s support for any initiatives for war de-escalationand said that Kyiv consistently shows that position since the round of negotiations held in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of last year.

“If Russia does not strike us, we will not take appropriate steps,” Zelensky said. “That’s all — we’ve talked about that principle before. At this stage, this is an initiative of the American side and the President of the United States personally. We can consider this an opportunity, not an agreement. Whether it will work or not, and what exactly will work, I can’t say at this point. There is no ceasefire. There is no formal agreement on a ceasefire, as is usually achieved during negotiations.”