According to the Julian calendar, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas Day on January 7
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russia’s “trivial” Christmas cease-fire offer, claiming it is a ruse to halt Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region and bring in more conscripts and equipment.
According to the BBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his Defense Minister to impose a 36-hour ceasefire on the Ukrainian frontline beginning at 12 a.m. on Friday to coincide with Russian Orthodox Christmas.
According to the Julian calendar, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas Day on January 7.
“Taking into consideration the appeal by (Kirill, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church), the President hereby instructs the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation to impose a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact in Ukraine for the 36-hour period,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The order urged Ukraine to reciprocate so that “large numbers of Orthodox believers (who) reside in areas where hostilities are taking place” could celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to stop the advance of our servicemen in the Donbas for a short time and bring equipment, ammunition, and conscripts closer to our positions,” Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation. What exactly does this mean? Another increase in the number of losses.
“Everyone in the world is aware of how the Kremlin uses a period of peace to re-energize the war.”
In response to the ceasefire proposal, Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podoliak stated that a “temporary truce” can begin only when Russia leaves Ukrainian territory, according to Ukrayinska Pravda.
In a tweet, he said that the “Russian Federation must leave the occupied territories; only then will it begin a ‘temporary truce’. “Keep your hypocrisy to yourself”.
In another statement, the adviser called Putin’s offer “just a propaganda gesture. Nothing else”.
He went on to say that Russia wants to show “humane approaches in the war” and persuade Europeans to put pressure on Ukraine.
In this way, Russia is attempting to achieve “immediate negotiations, acceptance of the Russian ultimatum, and a new line of demarcation”, Podoliak said, adding that “we should not respond to the deliberately manipulative initiatives of the Russian leadership”.
In a tweet, Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, stated that “we will not negotiate any truce with them (Russia). It has nothing to do with us”.
The development on Thursday comes after a Ukrainian missile attack on a conscript training college in Makiivka (Donetsk region) shortly after midnight on January 1 killed 89 Russian troops.
This was Moscow’s highest single loss of life since the war began on February 24, 2022.
