Thu 05 January 2023:
Putin has instructed Russia’s defence minister to introduce a ceasefire in Ukraine from noon local time (10:00 GMT) on Friday to midnight (22:00 GMT) on Saturday, in line with the Orthodox Christian Christmas.
There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which earlier on Thursday rejected a call from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for a truce as a “cynical trap”.
Ukraine dismisses Patriarch Kirill’s ceasefire call as a ‘cynical trap’
Earlier on, Kyiv rejected a call from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for a Christmas ceasefire as a “cynical trap”.
Patriarch Kirill suggested a truce from noon Friday through midnight Saturday, local time. The Russian Orthodox Church, which uses the ancient Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas on January 7.
But Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukraine’s president, quickly dismissed the idea as a “cynical trap”, pointing out that Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly backed what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“ROC [The Russian Orthodox Church] 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 militarisation of RF [The Russian Federation]. Thus, ROC’s statement about ‘Christmas truce’ is a cynical trap & an element of propaganda,” Podolyak tweeted.
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
Putin’s ceasefire order
Here is some of the official wording from Putin’s order for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas.
“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.
“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 added.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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