Putin's ceasefire in the Ukraine war: "Christmas rest" proclaimed only at the urging of Patriarch Kirill?

Created: 07/01/2023, 18:50

By: Johannes Nuss

During the Orthodox Christmas, the fighting in the Ukraine war seems to be going on unabated.

Is it all just a show by Vladimir Putin?

© Alexei Nikolsky/Alexei Alexandrov/dpa/Montage

During the Orthodox Christmas, the fighting in the Ukraine war seems to be going on unabated.

Is it all just a show by Vladimir Putin?

MOSCOW – During the 36-hour ceasefire in the Ukraine war that Russia unilaterally declared for the Orthodox Christmas holiday, Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on enemy positions in the Donetsk region.

"This is how they congratulate the occupiers on the upcoming Christmas!" the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv announced on Friday on social networks.

This is reported by kreiszeitung.de.

In the small town of Bakhmut, positions of the Russian troops were fired at with 120-millimeter mortar shells as a "gift".

"The resistance will continue until the last Russian invader on Ukrainian soil is killed," the statement said.

Russian troops also attacked Ukrainians again.

The ceasefire seems to be ignored in the Ukraine war.

"Christmas Silence" in the Ukraine War: Greatly Heralded "Humanity Gesture" Just Lip Service?

As is well known, Russia began invading Ukraine in February 2022.

For the first time since the beginning of the war, Moscow announced a 36-hour ceasefire for the entire front for the Orthodox Christmas, which Kyiv rejected.

During the ceasefire, Ukrainian authorities imposed an air alert across the country for about two hours on Friday.

According to media reports, the trigger was several Russian Air Force aircraft that took off over neighboring Belarus.

It should therefore be clear that the “humanity gesture” that has been announced as a great deal – wanting to prevent deaths during the Orthodox Christmas celebrations – is little more than lip service to the West for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If he were interested in more than just war propaganda, it can be assumed that Putin would have acted with more tact.

Putin's offer of a ceasefire in the Ukraine war only under pressure from Patriarch Kirill?

Although it is still not entirely clear whether the shots were fired shortly before or after the ceasefire came into force, there is little sign of a will to de-escalate the war in Ukraine.

However, this currently applies to both sides.

So rather the opposite is the case.

According to experts, it can be assumed that Putin only offered the ceasefire under pressure from Patriarch Kirill in order not to lose his support.

As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill is extremely important for Putin and his politics in the Ukraine war – Putin cannot do without him.

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In any case, the ceasefire "offered" by Putin for the Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Ukraine was met with skepticism from the start.

"Hypocritical" was probably the most common word heard in Kyiv on Thursday, January 5, 2023.

"They now want to use Christmas as cover to stop the advance of our boys in the Donbass," the

quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as saying.

Something similar was also heard from Western democracies on Friday.

Ceasefire in the Ukraine war is fragile: Kyiv rejects the ceasefire as "hypocrisy".

According to the

report , there is currently little to suggest that the ceasefire offered by Putin is a "confidence-building measure".

Because of the Christmas festival, it should be valid until midnight from Saturday to Sunday.

The Orthodox Churches in Russia and Ukraine traditionally celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on January 7 according to the Julian calendar.

However, Kyiv rejects the ceasefire as “hypocrisy”.

It only serves the Russian army to redeploy its forces.

At the Orthodox Easter celebrations in April last year, Moscow had rejected a cease-fire on similar grounds.