The West was skeptical of the Russian idea of a truce for 1.5 days

From noon to Moscow time on January 6, Russian troops in Ukraine must comply with the ceasefire. This was the day before by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He substantiated his decision with a request from the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church on the so -called Christmas Earth. The ceasefire should be valid until 24.00 on January 7, that is, a total of 36 hours.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the ceasefire came into force, noting that Ukraine "continues the artillery shelling of settlements and the positions of the Russian troops." Representatives of the so -called "DPR" said that the Ukrainian military allegedly fired at Donetsk exactly at noon on January 6.

In Ukraine, after noon, air alarm was announced due to the fact that Russia lifted aircraft in the air capable of applying missile strikes.

The head of the DPR, the previously appointed Russia, Denis Pushilin said that the ceasefire does not mean a truce and the Russian military in the Donetsk region will respond to possible Ukrainian shelling. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, compared Ukrainians with pigs, and the Western countries with pigs.

At the same time, Ukraine did not take on any obligations. She rejected Putin's proposal to join the ceasefire during the celebration of the Orthodox Christmas. On the evening of January 5, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba wrote on Twitter that the Kremlin’s proposal “cannot and should not” be taken seriously. Other representatives of Ukraine accused Russia of provocations and the desire to take advantage of the pause to improve the position of its troops. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message that Putin plans to use a two -day truce in order to "at least stop the promotion of the" Ukrainian army in the Donbass. " Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk warned the residents of the occupied territories about the danger of terrorist attacks in temples on Christmas night.

Representatives of the Western countries expressed bewilderment in connection with Putin’s proposal or rejected it directly, stating that the ceasefire for 1.5 days is an insufficient step towards resolving the conflict. US President Joe Biden suggested that Vladimir Putin needs a “respite”. According to him, Putin was ready to "bomb hospitals, kindergartens and churches" in Christmas, celebrated by Christians of the Western rite on December 25 and on New Year's holidays. According to the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Berobok, Putin, obviously, intends to "continue the war after a short break." If Putin wanted peace, he "would return his soldiers home and the war would end." The head of the European Council Charles Michelle called the declared ceasefire in the same cynicism as the referendums held by the Russian authorities in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

A number of commentators drew attention to the fact that in the Kremlin published on the Putin’s website, the ceasefire is used in Ukraine, while - from the point of view of the Kremlin and the current Russian constitution - the front line is now passing through the territories of annexed areas, which the Kremlin considers Russian.

• Earlier, a message appeared on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate from the name of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church to the sides of the war calling to establish a Christmas truce. The war in the text is called "internecine conflict." The unilateral cessation of hostilities to Putin in telephone conversations was proposed on January 5, Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
• In the spring of 2022, Russia rejected the calls of the UN and the Pope of the Roman to declare a truce on Easter supported by Ukraine.