Vladimir Putin has ordered a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for 36 hours this week to allow Orthodox Christians to attend Christmas services.
But Ukrainian officials voiced skepticism about the temporary ceasefire, saying Moscow just wanted a pause to gather reserves, equipment and ammunition.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak responded to Putin's move on Twitter by saying that Russia must leave "occupied territories" in Ukraine before any "temporary truce."Russian Federationdoes ... Second. RF must leave the occupied territories -- only then will it have a 'temporary truce'. Keep hypocrisy to yourself," Podolyak said.
Putin's order comes after he spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- who has attempted to position himself as a broker between the Russian president and the West -- where Putin said he was open to "serious dialogue" regarding Ukraine, but Kyiv must accept the "new territorial realities," according to a Kremlin statement.
Kirill has been a vocal supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine, and gave a sermon in September in which he said that "military duty washes away all sins." In recent years a large part of the Orthodox community in Ukraine has moved away from Moscow, a movement accelerated by the conflict Russia stoked in eastern Ukraine beginning in 2014.Ukrainians, who have suffered nearly a year of conflict, expressed distrust of Putin's announcement.
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