Trump calls Putin ‘very nice’ again and takes credit for Russia pausing its Kyiv assault — for 1 week
Weren’t he about to end the war a year ago?
During a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 29, Donald Trump once again praised Vladimir Putin as “very nice” while announcing a supposed diplomatic achievement. Apparently, he convinced the Russian president to pause attacks on Kyiv for a week. Yes, for a week. How kind.
Citing “extraordinary cold weather,” Trump told the meeting that Ukraine is facing the same “record-setting cold” as the U.S. Calling it “a big pile of bad weather,” he claimed that Ukrainians “have never experienced cold like that.” So, being the kind person he is, Trump phoned Putin despite discouragement from his officials.
I personally asked president Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the city is in town for a week during this.
And apparently, Putin agreed. “I have to tell you. It was very nice,” Trump said of Putin’s decision. He even claimed that everyone asked him not to “waste the call” because Putin wouldn’t agree. But Trump was dedicated to help Ukrainians during this tough time.
On top of everything else, it’s not what they need. Missiles coming into the town and cities. So, I just thought I should say it. I thought it was a very good thing.
Trump described the pause as a humanitarian gesture he personally brokered. He also presented it as proof that his relationship with Putin delivers results. One phone call, one favor, and there it is, one week of peace. Or at least, that’s the story Trump told. Because reality, as usual, is less cinematic.
Kremlin confirmed the pause in Kyiv, but for different reasons
The Kremlin confirmed that Trump made a request, but did not confirm the conditions Trump described. Russian officials did not publicly commit to a ceasefire and did not cite weather as the cause. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was to create favorable conditions for negotiations instead:
President Trump did indeed make a personal request to President Putin to refrain from striking Kyiv for a week until Feb. 1 in order to create favourable conditions for negotiations. (Via Reuters)
So, Russia did not agree to halt attacks across Ukraine. There was also no signed agreement or guarantee of anything beyond vague diplomatic pleasantries. Predictably, there was no clean “pause” on the ground either.
While Kyiv saw a short lull in major strikes, Russian attacks continued elsewhere in Ukraine. Notably, Russia routinely slows or shifts operations due to logistics and weather especially in winter. And they do that without intervention from an American president.
Ukraine continued to see attacks even during the supposed “pause” week
Ukrainian officials responded with careful restraint. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not confirm any formal deal on Jan. 30 and did not credit Trump with altering Russia’s strategy (via The Guardian). Ukraine also continued to prepare for renewed assaults, because Russia has a long track record of pausing briefly and resuming suddenly.
Yet, Trump claimed the moment as his own. He did not mention that Russia remains the aggressor, that Ukraine is still under invasion. Instead, he praised Putin’s temperament, as if the destruction of a European capital were a neighborly inconvenience politely postponed. This wasn’t a peace deal or a ceasefire. It was Trump congratulating himself for asking nicely and mistaking coincidence for control.
He presented a one-week slowdown as evidence of his greatness. Cold weather suddenly became a foreign-policy breakthrough. And Putin, still bombing Ukraine, was once again recast as “very nice.” The war did not stop. The bombs did not disappear. But for Trump, the important thing happened: he got a story where he’s the hero and Putin is agreeable.
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