The Orthodox celebrate Christmas on Saturday, January 7th, according to their liturgical calendar. For this occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops in Ukraine to observe a 36-hour ceasefire. This is the first major truce on the front since the conflict began in February 2022, but Ukrainians—as well as the EU’s top diplomat—consider the Russian proposal untrustworthy.
The ceasefire follows a request by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Russian defence minister to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 noon on January 6th this year until 24:00 on January 7th,” the Kremlin statement said.
Russian and Ukrainian forces are asked by the Kremlin to respect the truce so that the Orthodox, who are in the majority in both Ukraine and Russia, can “attend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.”
Kirill has been the patriarch of Moscow for fourteen years and is the 16th holder of the title. Close to the government, he is the first man to have attained a ceasefire in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Before calling for the ceasefire, Kirill had been a consistent supporter of the war since February 2022. In March, he spoke of a “metaphysical battle” against the “forces of evil.” On several occasions, he has intervened to bless the Russian troops but over Christmas, his tone was a peaceful one.
From Turkey, President Erdogan made the same appeal during a telephone call with the Russian president on Thursday, January 5th.
The initiative was not well received on the Ukrainian side and was dismissed as “hypocrisy.” Many Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on December 25th this year, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar used in Western countries, rather than on January 7th as provided by the Julian calendar followed by the Orthodox—a way to show their attachment to the West.
Even before Vladimir Putin’s announcement, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak described a possible truce as a “cynical trap” and an “element of propaganda.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also strongly criticised the initiative, saying that the truce proposed by Russia would be aimed at preventing Ukraine from making progress in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. “The Russians want to use Christmas as an excuse,” he said in his daily address. Moments earlier, an adviser to Zelensky asserted that on the Ukrainian side, the ceasefire would not be respected.
On Friday, January 6th, Josep Borell said, “The Kremlin totally lacks credibility and this declaration of a unilateral ceasefire is not credible.” The European Union foreign policy chief went on to say,
It was Russia that launched this illegitimate aggression. When the aggressor talks of a ceasefire, I think the response that comes to us all is scepticism in the face of such hypocrisy.
In its daily report, published on Friday, January 6th, the Russian army affirmed that it respects the unilateral ceasefire of two days decreed by Moscow, but it accuses Kyiv of continuing the bombardments.
