A cessation of hostilities in Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of Orthodox Christmas took effect on Friday morning. Russia will be observing the truce for 36 hours, from 12:00 on January 6 until midnight on January 7.
On Thursday, Putin has ordered the Russian military to impose a cessation in hostilities in Ukraine, hours after Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, had called on both sides of the conflict to cease hostilities in the run-up to, and during, the Orthodox Christmas holiday.
“Judging by the fact that a lot of citizens who practice the Orthodox religion live in the embattled area, we call upon the Ukrainian side to proclaim a cessation of hostilities and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day,” a Kremlin statement reads.
Zelensky Finds Excuses to Reject Ceasefire
For his part, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Thursday that the cessation of hostilities offered by Russia was “merely a ruse to improve Moscow’s standing on the battlefield,” calling on Russians to overthrow their government instead.
In a video message to Ukrainians, Zelensky said he had offered a “peace plan” to Moscow in December, starting with the withdrawal of all Russian troops from territories claimed by Kiev.
“Now they want to use Christmas as cover, to stop the advance of our boys in Donbass for a bit and bring up their equipment, ammunition and mobilized [troops] to the front,” Zelensky said, claiming this will only result in more Russian casualties.
Putin-Erdogan Call
Earlier on Thursday, Putin discussed the prospect of peace negotiations with Ukraine in a call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Russian president reiterated that Moscow was “open to serious dialogue” with Kiev if the latter recognized the “new territorial realities.”
Erdogan responded that “calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral declaration of ceasefire and a vision of a just solution” to the conflict.
Ankara has offered to broker negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the past. Meaningful peace talks between the two sides effectively collapsed in April, with both Moscow and Kiev blaming the other. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in late December that Ukrainian politicians were “incapable of negotiating,” adding that “the majority of them are blatant Russophobes.”
US, Germany to Send Heavy Weaponry for Ukraine
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have confirmed reports that they will donate infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The news comes a day after France announced that it would send Western-designed ‘light tanks’ to Kiev.
According to a joint statement released by the White House and German Chancellery on Thursday evening, “the United States intends to supply Ukraine with Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and Germany intends to provide Ukraine with Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles.”
“Both countries plan to train Ukrainian forces on the respective systems,” the statement continued.
It remains unclear how many of each type of vehicle will be sent to Ukraine and when they will be delivered.
Source: Agencies
