President Putin Issues 36-Hour Holiday Weekend In Ukraine Ceasefire For Orthodox Christmas

(CTN NEWS) – KYIV, Ukraine – This weekend for the Orthodox Christmas holiday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his armed forces to observe a unilateral 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine, the first such broad-reaching truce action in the conflict’s nearly 11-month history.

It was unclear whether hostilities would actually end on the 1,100-kilometer (684-mile) front line or elsewhere because Putin did not appear to make his cease-fire order contingent on a Ukrainian willingness to follow suit.

Russian peace efforts have previously been disregarded by Ukrainian officials as a stalling tactic by Moscow to gather its forces and be ready for new assaults.

Russian authorities have issued temporary local cease-fires at several spots during the conflict that broke out on February 24 to allow for the evacuation of civilians or other humanitarian objectives.

Putin’s command on Thursday marked the first time he had asked his soldiers to respect a cease-fire over the entire country of Ukraine.

According to Putin’s order, which was sent to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and made public on the Kremlin website,

“We call on the Ukrainian side to proclaim a cease-fire and offer them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ,” given that a significant number of individuals professing Orthodoxy live in the battle regions.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, tweeted that Russian soldiers “must leave the occupied territory” before there can be a “temporary truce,” however, this was not necessarily the final official statement from Kyiv. Avoid being hypocritical yourself.

Although he declined to make any direct comments, U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Thursday at the White House that it was “interesting” that Putin was prepared to target hospitals, daycare centers, and churches on Christmas and New Year’s.

He declared, “I believe he’s looking for some oxygen.”

More. Maybe Russians don’t understand human language. I offer Putin/Gundyaev/others to return to Dec 25 or the night of Dec 31 to Jan 1 and, under the howl of missiles & drones flying to kill Ukrainians, discuss the “Christmas truce”. In the bloody scenery so dear to their hearts

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 5, 2023

Putin followed the advice of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who suggested a ceasefire from midday on Friday to midnight on Saturday Moscow time (0900 GMT Friday to 2100 GMT Saturday; 4 a.m. EST Friday to 3 p.m. EST Saturday).

Although some Christians in Ukraine also observe Christmas on that day, the Orthodox Church, which follows the antiquated Julian calendar, celebrates the holiday on January 7—a day later than the Gregorian calendar.

Podolyak had regarded the call from Kirill before as “a cynical trap and a component of propaganda.” Prior to December 25, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recommended a Russian army withdrawal; however, Russia rejected it.

Kirill has previously defended the conflict as a component of Russia’s “metaphysical struggle” against Western liberal ideologies.

According to independent political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya, Putin’s decision for a cease-fire is meant to give the impression that he is rational and interested in peace.

The action “fits perfectly with Putin’s reasoning, according to which Russia is standing on the right side of history and battling for justice,” she said.

Stanovaya, the founder of the independent R.Politik think tank, remarked on Telegram,

“We must not forget that in this conflict, Putin feels like a “good guy,” doing good not only for himself and the “brotherly nations,” but also for the globe he is liberating from the “hegemony” of the United States.

She further connected Putin’s action to the recent attack by Ukrainian forces on Makiivka, which resulted in the deaths of at least 89 Russian service members.

#Putin's Christmas #ceasefire, which was announced today, fits well with his logic, in which #Russia acts on the good side of history and fights for justice. This is of course how he understands it. 1/4

— R.Politik (@R__Politik) January 5, 2023

The analyst stated that he genuinely doesn’t want to receive something similar for Christmas.

Some in Kyiv’s soggy streets questioned the Russians’ sincerity in proposing a cease-fire.

Svitlana Zhereva questioned, “Shall we believe Russians?” in response to Kirill’s suggestion.

They try to portray themselves as saints who are opposed to bloodshed, but on the one hand, they approve of war and killing. But one should evaluate people based on their deeds.

According to the Turkish president’s office, Putin ordered a cease-fire after being asked to do so by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Thursday.

According to the Kremlin, the Russian president reportedly “reaffirmed Russia’s openness to a serious engagement” with Ukrainian authorities.

Erdogan also stated over the phone to Zelenskyy that Turkey was prepared to serve as a “lasting peace” mediator.

Erdogan routinely made such promises, assisted in negotiating a deal allowing Ukraine to export millions of tonnes of grain, and helped arrange a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine.

The Kremlin noted that Russia’s announced willingness to engage in peace negotiations came with the customary conditions:

“Kyiv authorities meet the well-known and often expressed demands and recognize new territorial realities,” referring to Moscow’s desire that Ukraine recognizes Crimea as part of Russia and other illegitimate territorial gains.

Due to Russia’s territorial claims and Ukraine’s insistence that Russia withdraw from occupied territory, previous attempts at peace talks have failed.

Another official stated that Moscow’s position on Ukraine has not changed and that Moscow “wants a Europe where they can control a neighboring country.”

In Oslo, Norway, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated, “We have no signs that President Putin has modified his objectives or his goals for Ukraine.”

Individual NATO nations supply Ukraine with more powerful weapons as they scale up their military assistance.

The French Defense Ministry recently pledged that it will soon hold discussions with its Ukrainian equivalent about supplying armoured combat vehicles.

According to the French presidency, the Ukrainian military would receive this kind of Western-made wheeled tank destroyer for the first time.

According to Biden, the United States might send Bradley Fighting Vehicles—a medium-armored fighting vehicle that can also be used as a troop transport—to Ukraine.

The battleground appears to have reached a standstill as additional weaponry arrive, turning the conflict into an attrition struggle. The mobility of troops and equipment is more constrained as winter approaches.

During the most recent battle, at least five civilians were killed and eight were injured nationwide by Russian shelling, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

According to Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, a violent conflict has left 60% of Bakhmut’s eastern city in ruins. The Russians appear to be being held back by Ukrainian defenses.

In addition to giving Putin a significant military victory after months of losses, capturing the city in the Donbas region.

A vast industrial area bordering Russia, would cut off Ukraine’s supply routes and allow Moscow’s forces to advance on important Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk.

The first prisoners recruited for battle by the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor, earned a promised government amnesty after spending six months on the front line in what appeared to be an effort to persuade other individuals to join the struggle.

The rich owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was shown shaking hands with roughly 20 individuals who had been pardoned in a footage that the state news agency RIA Novosti aired.

Last month, the White House said that Wagner had 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, including 40,000 prisoners who had been recruited. According to U.S. estimates, Wagner invests around $100 million yearly on the conflict.

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