All eyes are on the unilateral cease-fire ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin for Orthodox Christmas, which got underway on Friday, a temporary truce that was dismissed by Ukraine, the United States and Germany as a possible ploy for Russia to regroup and move more troops and equipment to the battlefield. Putin this week ordered his forces to observe a 36-hour truce for the holiday, the Kremlin said.
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a real cease-fire would come only when Russian troops withdraw from the country. “Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to … stop the advance of our guys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized men closer to our positions,” he said, referring to a region in eastern Ukraine. “What will this bring? Just another increase in the death toll.”
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
