President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Thursday that Russia was seeking a ceasefire to use it as a cover to stop Ukraine’s advance in Donbas in the east of the country and bring in more men and equipment, Reuters reported.

“They now want to use Christmas as a cover, if only for a short time, to stop the advance of our guys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized troops closer to our positions,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. , speaking Russian, not Ukrainian.

“What will it bring them? Just another increase in their total losses,” said the head of Kyiv.

Zelenskyi said that the war “will end either when your soldiers leave or when we drive them out.”

Ukraine conditions the acceptance of the old-fashioned Christmas truce proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday with the withdrawal of troops from its territory, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, reacted on Twitter to Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a ceasefire, noting that it “cannot and should not be taken seriously.”

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“One. Ukraine does not attack foreign territories and does not attack the civilian population. Like the Russian Federation. Ukraine destroys only the soldiers of the occupying army on its territory,” Podoliak wrote on Twitter late Thursday.

“Two. The Russian Federation must leave the occupied territories – only then will there be a ‘temporary truce’. Keep your hypocrisy to yourself,” he added.

The reaction of the Kremlin

Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov expressed doubt that the refusal of presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak to truce reflects the point of view of President Volodymyr Zelensky, writes Reuters with reference to the Interfax agency.

“It is difficult for us to judge whether Podolyak’s opinion reflects the point of view of the President of Ukraine,” said Peskov.

Zelensky has not yet commented on the truce proposed by Vladimir Putin for the traditional Christmas.

Podolyak made his first comment to Kyiv after the Kremlin announced around 5:30 p.m. Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had ordered a cease-fire on the entire front line in Ukraine ahead of Christmas Eve and Christmas according to the old rite, which is celebrated on January 7.

“In view of the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to implement a ceasefire regime along the entire contact line in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6 of this year until 24:00. January 7 of this year,” says the document published by the Kremlin press service.

On Thursday morning, Patriarch Kirill of Russia called for a truce on the eve of the celebration of the Old Rite Christmas according to the Julian calendar on January 7.

“I, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, appeal to all parties to the conflict with a request to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from January 6, 12:00 to January 7 (midnight), so that the Orthodox can participate in divine services on the eve of Christmas and for Christmas,” says the address of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, published on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.

On Thursday evening, the Kremlin also turned to Ukraine with a request to declare a truce.

Ukraine no longer believes Russia’s promises

Ukraine rejected the appeal of Patriarch Kirill, known for his numerous statements in support of the war launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24, and Mykhailo Podolyak also said on Twitter that it was a “cynical trap and an element of propaganda.”

The Ukrainian official also noted that the Russian Orthodox Church is not an authority for world Orthodoxy and acts only as a “propagandist of war.”

“The Russian Orthodox Church called for the genocide of Ukrainians and encouraged mass murder, insisting on the further militarization of Russia. Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church’s calls for a “Christmas truce” are a cynical trap and an element of propaganda,” the president’s adviser believes.

His comments came after Russia promptly rejected President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s peace offer on February 12 ahead of Ukraine’s increasingly popular Gregorian Christmas celebrations.

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