Ukraine on Thursday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a 36-hour cease-fire during Orthodox Christmas, insisting that no truce would come into effect until Russia withdraws its invading soldiers from the seized territory.
The Russian Orthodox Church's head, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, had requested a Christmas truce between the two countries. In response, the Kremlin said that Putin had ordered a ceasefire to begin at noon on Friday.
"Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6, 2023 to 24:00 on January 7, 2023," Putin said in the order.
”Proceeding from 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 allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day,” he continued.
But in response, Mikhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, tweeted that Russia "must leave the occupied territories – only then will it have a 'temporary truce'. Keep hypocrisy to yourself."
First. Ukraine doesn't attack foreign territory & doesn't kill civilians. As RF does. Ukraine destroys only members of the occupation army on its territory...Second. RF must leave the occupied territories - only then will it have a "temporary truce". Keep hypocrisy to yourself.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 5, 2023
He went on to say that, in contrary to Russia, Ukraine solely attacked "members of the occupation army on its territory" and did not assault or murder citizens in any other nations.
Podolyak, had previously dismissed Kirill's call for a cease-fire as "a cynical trap and an element of propaganda." He called the Russian Orthodox Church, which supported the invasion, a "war propagandist" who encouraged the "mass murder" of Ukrainians and the militarisation of Russia.
ROC is not an authority for global Orthodoxy & acts as a "war propagandist". ROC called for the genocide of Ukrainians, incited mass murder & insists on even greater militarization of RF. Thus, ROC's statement about "Christmas truce" is a cynical trap & an element of propaganda.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 5, 2023
The prospect of a Russian proposal for a ceasefire has already been discounted by Ukraine as an effort by Moscow to give its forces some respite, which Ukraine is attempting to oust from land Russia seized by force following its invasion last February.
Christmas is celebrated on January 7 by the Orthodox Church of Russia. The primary Orthodox church in Ukraine has rejected the authority of the Moscow patriarch, and many Christians there have modified their calendar to observe Christmas on December 25 as in the West.
MEDIATION SPURNED
Earlier on Thursday, Russia and Ukraine made it clear that there would not be any peace talks between them anytime soon, effectively rejecting Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan's offer of mediation. Erdogan had separately spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
According to the Kremlin, Putin reportedly informed Erdogan that Moscow was prepared for negotiations, but only if Ukraine would "take into account the new territorial realities," which is a euphemism for accepting Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian land.
Ukraine's Podolyak deemed such a demand to be ”fully unacceptable”.
"The Russian Federation (Putin) under the word 'talks' offers Ukraine & the world to recognise 'its right to seize foreign territories' & to fix the absence of legal consequences for mass killings on foreign territory," he wrote on Twitter.
Russia and Ukraine both began the new year with more resolute diplomatic postures after Putin authorised an invasion of its neighbour and the seizure of large tracts of Ukrainian territory ten months earlier.
After significant victories on the battlefield in the second half of 2022, Kyiv is more certain than ever that it can expel Russian invaders from its territory.
After initiating the first call-up of reservists since World War Two, Putin, has shown little willingness to consider surrendering his territorial conquests despite growing casualties among his soldiers.
On Thursday, Turkish President Erdogan spoke with Putin and informed him that a cease-fire was necessary to put a stop to the fighting. He also informed Zelenskiy that Turkey was willing to act as a mediator for a lasting settlement..
Erdogan has served as a mediator in the past, most notably by assisting in the negotiation of a U.N.-backed agreement that opened Ukrainian ports to grain shipments, and he has on several occasions spoken to both Putin and Zelenskiy, most recently last month.
Also read: In a rare disclosure, Russia says dozens of its troops killed in attack in eastern Ukraine
(Edited by : Pradeep John)
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