UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russia’s calls for a cease-fire on Orthodox Christmas, pointing to times that the Kremlin’s army failed to grant Ukraine such a time of respite.
In a statement released Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his minister of defense to issue a cease-fire “along the entire line of contact” in the war in Ukraine between January 6 and 7 to allow citizens the chance to attend services during the holiday weekend.
“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 cease-fire and allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day,” Putin continued in his order.
Zelensky, however, denied the Kremlin’s request during his nightly address Thursday, and instead pointed to two different proposals for peace that have been rejected by Putin in recent months.
Both leaders have claimed recently that they are willing to talk negotiations, but experts previously predicted that it is unlikely the countries will reach a peace agreement anytime soon.
In one of Ukraine’s peace proposals in December, Zelensky said that Russia “received an offer to begin implementation of the Peace Formula with the withdrawal of occupation troops just on Christmas Day.” While the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar, many in Ukraine celebrate Christmas on December 25.
“Apparently both of our proposals have not been heard by the leaders of your country,” Zelensky said while addressing the “citizens of Russia” toward the end of his nightly speech.
“Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to at least briefly stop the advance of our guys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized men closer to our positions,” he continued, according to an English translation. “What will this bring? Just another increase in the death toll.”
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba echoed Zelensky in a tweet Thursday as well, writing that Russia has continued to ignore Ukraine’s “clear Peace Formula of ten steps.”
“Russia has been ignoring it and instead shelling Kherson on Christmas Eve, launching mass missile and drone strikes on New Year,” Kuleba said. “Their current ‘unilateral ceasefire’ cannot and should not be taken seriously.”
On Christmas Eve, Russian forces reportedly fired a barrage of 71 explosive shells into the Kherson region, killing 16 people and injuring dozens of others. Putin’s army also carried out an attack in Kyiv on New Year’s Eve, which killed at least one person.
President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday that he was “reluctant to respond to anything Putin says” when asked to comment on the request for a cease-fire.
“I found it interesting. He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches…on the 25th and New Year’s,” Biden added. “I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”
Ukrainian officials claimed Thursday that Russia’s army saw a huge spike in casualties during the Christmas and New Year’s period, and they estimate that 109,720 Russian troops have been killed since Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
