Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to observe a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine for 36 hours and asked Kyiv to do the same, the Kremlin said Thursday, a move Ukraine appeared to be quick to reject.
Ukraine has indicated it would not support a ceasefire for Russian Orthodox Christmas, which falls on Saturday, and has long viewed suggestions of a truce as favoring Moscow.
«First. Ukraine does not attack foreign territory and does not kill civilians. As [Russia] it does. Ukraine destroys only the members of the occupation army on its territory…” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter after Putin’s announcement. «Second. [Russia] it must leave the occupied territories; only then will he have a «temporary truce». Keep the hypocrisy to yourself.»
Putin instructed his defense minister to institute a ceasefire «along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine» starting at noon local time (4 a.m. ET) on Friday, the Kremlin said in a statement released on Telegram. The proposed Christmas truce would last until midnight local time (4 p.m. ET) on Saturday.
Ukrainian authorities earlier dismissed the idea when it was raised by Patriarch Kirill, a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church who enjoys a close association with the government and has provided a kind of spiritual cover for the invasion.
Podolyak had dismissed Kirill’s call as «a cynical trap and a propaganda piece.»
The Russian Orthodox Church, which uses the old Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas on January 7, later than the Gregorian calendar. Some Orthodox Christians in Ukraine recently celebrated Christmas on December 25 to show their anger and defiance at Moscow.
«Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ,» Putin said.
Putin’s proposal comes with the war well prepared after 10 months.
His campaign in Ukraine suffered a series of setbacks late last year, with counterattacks by the Kyiv army forcing him to withdraw from large areas that the Russian army had occupied in the east and south of the country.
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Associated Press contributed.
