The “Sunday to Sunday” Truce: Putin Strikes Ukraine After Pause, Trump Says He “Kept His Word”

A fragile and controversial “energy truce” between Russia and Ukraine effectively collapsed on the night of February 2–3, 2026, when Moscow launched its most powerful assault on Ukraine’s energy sector of the year. The strike has ignited a war of words between Washington and Kyiv over whether the terms of the pause were actually honored.

The Massive Monday Night Strike

Just hours after the supposed expiration of a week-long pause, Russian forces unleashed a barrage that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as an act of “deliberate terror” timed for the coldest week of the winter.

• The Weaponry: Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia used 71 missiles (including a record number of ballistic units) and 450 drones.
• The Damage: The strikes targeted thermal power plants and substations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa.
• The Human Cost: In Kyiv alone, over 1,100 apartment buildings were left without heat. In Kharkiv, city officials were forced to drain water from the heating systems of 820 buildings to prevent pipes from bursting as temperatures dropped to -20°C (-4°F).+1

The Truce Dispute: “He Kept His Word”

On Tuesday, February 3, President Donald Trump addressed the strike from the Oval Office, defending Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions as being within the agreed-upon timeframe.

“It was Sunday [Jan 25] to Sunday [Feb 1] and it ended, and last night he hit them hard. He kept his word on that… We’ll take anything because it’s really, really cold over there.” — President Donald Trump, Feb 3, 2026.

The Timeline Conflict:

• Trump’s View: Claims the truce was a strictly defined “Sunday to Sunday” window (Jan 25 – Feb 1).
• Zelenskyy’s View: Argues that the pause was meant to coincide with the ongoing Abu Dhabi peace talks (running through Feb 5) and accused Russia of using the week to “stockpile missiles” for the coldest days of the year.
• The Kremlin’s View: Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia agreed to a “personal request” from Trump to halt strikes specifically on Kyiv until February 1, though strikes in other regions continued throughout the week.

Impact on Peace Talks

The timing of the strike—occurring just 24 hours before a major round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi—has cast a shadow over diplomatic efforts. While the Trump administration has framed the one-week pause as a successful “confidence-building measure,” Ukrainian officials view it as a tactical maneuver that allowed Russia to refine its targeting of the already-crippled power grid.