The Ukrainian leader says the war will end when Russian troops leave Ukraine or ‘we throw them out’.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected a Russian order for a ceasefire during the Orthodox Christmas season, calling it a ruse designed to halt Ukraine’s army’s progress in the eastern Donbas region and allow Moscow to send in more troops.
Following the call for a Christmas truce by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire, which will last from midday Friday (09:00 GMT) until the end of Saturday (21:00 GMT), the Kremlin said on Thursday.
“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…” the Kremlin said in a statement citing Putin.
The order did not specify whether the ceasefire would apply to both offensive and defensive operations by Russia, and it was not clear whether Russia would hit back if Ukraine kept fighting.
Speaking pointedly in Russian and addressing the Kremlin and Russians as a whole on Thursday night, Zelenskyy said Moscow had repeatedly ignored Kyiv’s peace plan.
“They now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilised troops closer to our positions,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
“What will that give them? Only yet another increase in their total losses.”
“The whole world knows how the Kremlin uses interruptions in the war to continue the war with new strength,” Zelenskyy said.
The war would end, he said, when Russian troops left Ukraine or were thrown out.
Russia’s Orthodox Church observes Christmas on January 7. Ukraine’s main Orthodox Church has been recognised as independent and rejects any notion of allegiance to the Moscow patriarch. Many Ukrainian believers have also shifted their calendar to celebrate Christmas on December 25 as in the West.
Directing his address to Russian people, Zelenskyy said that ending the war meant “ending your country’s aggression … This continues every day that your soldiers are on our soil … And the war will end either when your soldiers leave or we throw them out”.
The Ukrainian leader also urged Russians to challenge Putin and his portrayal of the war as necessary to safeguard Moscow’s interests against the West.
“In order to end the war more quickly, we need something completely different. We need Russian citizens to find the courage in themselves, albeit for 36 hours, albeit during Christmas, to free themselves of the shameful fear of one man in the Kremlin.”
United States President Joe Biden was equally dismissive of Putin’s announcement.
“He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches” on December 25 and on New Year’s Day, Biden said.
“I think he’s trying to find some oxygen,” he added.
The Institute for the Study of War said that Putin’s surprise ceasefire announcement was “an intentional information tactic” designed to portray Ukraine as the aggressor, and a pause in fighting now would primarily benefit Russian forces.
“The announcement of a ceasefire within 24 hours of when it is meant to enter into force suggests that it was announced with the intention of framing Ukrainian forces who continue to fight throughout the timeframe of the ceasefire as unwilling to work towards peace and wanting to fight at all costs,” the Institute said in a briefing paper on Thursday.
“Such a pause would disproportionately benefit Russian troops and begin to deprive Ukraine of the initiative,” the institute said.