Ukraine rejects Putin’s Orthodox Christmas ceasefire proposal

In response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a 36-hour ceasefire to observe Orthodox Christmas on Thursday, Ukraine said there would be no ceasefire until Russia withdrew its occupying soldiers from occupied territory.

As a result of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, calling for a Christmas truce, the Kremlin reported that Putin had ordered a ceasefire beginning at noon on Friday.

Putin said in the directive, “I instruct the Russian Federation’s Minister of Defence to institute a ceasefire regime along the whole line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6, 2023 to 24:00 on January 7, 2023, taking into account the request of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.

We appeal on the Ukrainian side to proclaim a ceasefire and allow people to attend services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because many people who identify as Orthodox live in the conflict zones, Putin said.

Mikhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the Ukrainian president on Twitter, responded by saying that Russia “must leave the occupied territory – only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’.” Avoid being hypocritical yourself.

He said that, in contrast to Russia, Ukraine solely destroyed “members of the occupation army on its territory” and did not attack or murder civilians abroad.

Kirill’s request for a ceasefire had been earlier rejected by Podolyak as “a devious trap and an element of propaganda.” The Russian Orthodox Church, which has supported Russia’s invasion, was referred to by him as a “war propagandist.”

Ukraine has already stated that any Russian proposal for a ceasefire would be an effort by Moscow to get some relief for its forces, who it is attempting to drive from land Russia seized following its invasion last February.

On January 7, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas. The primary Orthodox Church in Ukraine has disregarded the Moscow patriarch’s authority, and many believers there have changed their calendars to observe Christmas on December 25 as in the West.