KYIV — Ukraine spurned a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin for a 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas, saying there can be no truce till Russia withdraws its invading forces from occupied land.
The Kremlin stated Putin had ordered a ceasefire from noon on Friday after a name for a Christmas truce from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the pinnacle of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense 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 stated within 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,” Putin stated.
But Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak tweeted again that Russia “must leave the occupied territories—only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’. Keep hypocrisy to yourself.”
He stated that not like Russia, Ukraine was not attacking international territory or killing civilians, solely destroying “members of the occupation army on its territory.”
Podolyak, had earlier rejected Kirill’s for a truce as “a cynical trap and an element of propaganda.” He described the Russian Orthodox Church, which has endorsed the invasion, as a “war propagandist” that had incited the “mass murder” of Ukrainians and the militarization of Russia.
Ukraine has beforehand dismissed the prospect of any Russian name for a ceasefire as an try by Moscow to safe some respite for its troops, which Ukraine is attempting to power from territory Russia seized by power after its invasion final February.
Russia’s Orthodox Church observes Christmas on Jan. 7. Ukraine’s foremost Orthodox Church has rejected the authority of the Moscow patriarch, and plenty of Ukrainian believers have shifted their calendar, celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 as within the West.
Mediation spurned
Earlier on Thursday, Russia and Ukraine made clear there can be no peace talks between them any time quickly, successfully spurning a proposal of mediation by Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke individually to each Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The Kremlin stated Putin had advised Erdogan Moscow was prepared for talks—however solely underneath the situation that Ukraine “take into account the new territorial realities,” a reference to acknowledging Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s Podolyak referred to as that demand “fully unacceptable.”
“The Russian Federation (Putin) under the word ‘talks’ offers Ukraine & the world to recognize ‘its right to seize foreign territories’ & ‘to fix the absence of legal consequences for mass killings on foreign territory,'” he wrote on Twitter.
Ten months after Putin ordered an invasion of his neighbor and seized swathes of Ukrainian land, Russia and Ukraine have each entered the brand new yr with hardened diplomatic positions.
After main battlefield victories within the second half of 2022, Kyiv is more and more confidant it may drive Russian invaders from extra of its land.
Putin, for his half, has proven no willingness to debate relinquishing his territorial conquests regardless of mounting losses amongst his troops, after he ordered the primary call-up of reservists since World War Two.
The Turkish presidency stated Erdogan advised Putin on Thursday {that a} ceasefire was wanted to finish the battle, and advised Zelenskiy that Turkey was ready to function a mediator for a closing peace.
Erdogan has acted as a mediator previously, notably serving to to dealer a UN-backed deal that unblocked Ukrainian ports to ship grain, and has spoken by cellphone to each Putin and Zelenskiy on the identical day a number of instances, most not too long ago final month. — Reuters
