An adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said on Thursday, in response to Moscow’s announcement of a Christmas ceasefire, that only there will be a “temporary truce” once Russia leaves the occupied territories.
Mikhailo Podolyak, one of the figures closest to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, wrote on his Twitter account that Ukraine is not attacking a foreign country but defending its territory, calling the Russian announcement “hypocritical.”
The Kremlin today ordered a 36-hour ceasefire starting at 12:00 Moscow time (09:00 GMT) tomorrow, Friday, on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas.
“First of all, Ukraine does not attack foreign territory and does not kill civilians, as the Russian Federation does. Ukraine only destroys members of the occupation army on its territory,” Podolyak argued in rejecting the temporary truce.
“Second, the Russian Federation must leave the occupied territories. Only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’. Beware your hypocrisy,” he concluded.
The advisor had already criticized this morning the request of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kiril, to establish a Christmas truce so that the faithful can go to the temples without fearing for their safety.
The Russian Orthodox Church acts as a “propagandist” for the war, Podolyak said, adding that the institution incites the genocide of Ukrainians and the militarization of Russian society.
For all these reasons, Kiril’s statements on the ceasefire constitute a “cynical trap and an element of propaganda,” the adviser emphasized.
