Putin's Orthodox Christmas ceasefire has started, but Ukraine thinks it's a trick and says 'it's too late for the Kremlin to think of God'

A burnt-out car is seen on the street after a missile launched by Russian invaders hit near the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building in March, 2022.

Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

• Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire in honor of Russian Orthodox Christmas.
• But Ukraine think it's a trap intended to give Russia time to regroup without Ukrainian attacks.
• Ukraine's Ministry of Defense tweeted, "isn't it too late for the Kremlin to think of God?"

Russian President Vladimir Putin's 36-hour ceasefire in honor of Russian Orthodox Christmas has begun, but it's unclear if either side is adhering to it, according to the New York Times. 

Ukraine has not agreed to the ceasefire, with some officials believing it's actually a trick. Mykhailo Podolyak, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on social media Thursday that the "'Christmas truce' is a cynical trap & an element of propaganda." 

In an overnight address, Zelenskyy said Moscow wants "to use Christmas as a cover" so it can take the time to reposition its troops without the threat of Ukrainian advancement, allowing Russia to come back with renewed force.

Though the Kremlin called the truce, it's also unclear if Russia itself is abiding by it. The New York Times reported that on Friday, Russian strikes on Ukraine continued, although it remains unclear if they happened before or after the truce was set to start at noon local time on Friday. 

Reuters, meanwhile, reported that artillery fire could be heard at Ukraine's front lines after the official start of the ceasefire.

Analysts told the New York Times that in addition to the ceasefire potentially being a strategy for Russia to re-group its forces, it also might be an attempt to gather more support at home under the guise of honoring the birth of Christ. 

But Ukraine doesn't buy it. The official page of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine tweeted on Thursday, "After 10 months of genocide, after hundreds of destroyed Ukrainian churches, isn't it too late for the Kremlin to think of God?"

Podolyak, the senior Ukrainian official, also said in a tweet Thursday that Russia "must leave the occupied territories," arguing that "only then will it have a 'temporary truce.'"

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