Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced on Thursday night that his army will not attack Ukraine on January 6 and 7. That is, there will be a ceasefire from the Russian side for two days. Putin has taken this decision after the appeal of Patriarch Kirill, the 76-year-old Christian cleric of Russia. But Ukraine has slammed ceasefire announcement.
This is the first time since the attack on Ukraine in February last year that Russia has declared a ceasefire. Russia and Ukraine both celebrate Orthodox Christmas. Orthodox Christmas is also celebrated in Eastern European countries such as Russia, Greece, Ethiopia and Egypt.
"Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriach Kirill, I instruct the defense minister of the Russian Federation to introduce from 12:00 (0900 GMT) on January 6, 2023 until 24:00 (2100 GMT) on January 7, 2023 a cease-fire along the entire line of contact between the sides in Ukraine," a statement from the Kremlin said.
It is for the first time that a national cease-fire has occurred in the war. It is not clear if the Russian military will actually follow through with the decision.
Ukraine slams Russia's announcement
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak slammed the announcement saying it was hypocritical.
He said a "temporary truce" would only be meaningful if Russia withdrew from the territory it is currently occupying in Ukraine.
"The Russian Federation must withdraw from the occupied territories, only then will it have a 'temporary truce'...Keep hypocrisy to yourself," Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
Podolyak said there is not the slightest desire to end the war in this ceasefire announcement.
He said Russia attacked civilian objects with missiles/drones, including places of religious rites, and attacked during the Christmas festive period.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said if Putin really wanted peace, "he would bring his soldiers home."
"A so-called ceasefire brings neither freedom nor security to people living in daily fear under Russian occupation," Baerbock wrote on Twitter.
Putin wants to reduce opposition in the country
What is the significance of this move? Western media and Putin's opponents in the country are constantly claiming that most of the people of Russia are tired of the ongoing war with Ukraine. The youth are being forcibly included in the army. The Russian government is not even ready to tell how many soldiers have died so far or how much damage has been done to the army.
What message Putin wants to give
It is believed that with this two-day ceasefire, Putin wants to give a message to his opponents in the country and the world that he is not in favor of war but in favor of peace and that is why he has declared a two-day ceasefire on his behalf.
On 24 February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine. Putin hoped that the war would end in a few days, because Ukraine is a weak country. However, this did not happen. Second thing- Patriarch Kirill is a staunch supporter of Putin and it is quite possible that he has taken this step only on the advice or behest of the President. With this, Putin will try to prove that he has taken a step towards peace from his side.
It could be Putin's ploy
The US has recently given Ukraine Patriot missiles and air defense systems. It also has good drones. Because of this, Ukraine has made tremendous retaliatory attacks on Russia.
Looking at it from this point of view, it can also be a ploy of Putin to gain time on the pretext of ceasefire to regroup his army and then launch a fresh attack on Ukraine. Defense experts call it 'ceasefire for regrouping strategy'.
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