Russian Putin Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defence minister to impose a 36-hour ceasefire on the Ukrainian frontline, beginning on Friday.

Both days are public holidays in the country. Relatives of the dead, as well as some politicians and commentators, expressed anger over what happened in Makiivka and blamed incompetent military officials. The Kremlin's ceasefire fits in nicely with a common narrative in Moscow, one that is aimed primarily at the domestic audience. Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said there could be no "temporary truce" until Russian forces withdrew from all the areas they had occupied. [said Moscow repeatedly ignored](https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1611076829577904128) President Zelensky's propositions for peace. A Kremlin statement said: "Taking into consideration the appeal by [Kirill], the president hereby instructs the minister of defence of the Russian Federation to impose a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact in Ukraine" for the 36-hour period.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine, timed for the Orthodox Christmas, a move that at least one Ukrainian ...

[agreed to send armored combat vehicles to Ukraine](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/05/biden-ukraine-bradley-vehicles-tanks-00076549) — something [Kyiv has wanted for a while](https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/17/23355120/ukraine-wants-more-weapons-can-europe-provide), in addition to high-tech tanks. [Russia has said the number dead is greater than 80 soldiers.](https://www.npr.org/2023/01/02/1146556299/russia-ukraine-donetsk-attack)) The battle in the eastern city of Bakhmut is [increasingly bloody for both sides](https://www.npr.org/2023/01/02/1146556299/russia-ukraine-donetsk-attack), but even Russia has admitted [things are bleak](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/03/ukraine-wagner-leader-counts-cost-as-russian-offensive-stalls-in-bakhmut). [according to the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/01/06/world/russia-ukraine-news), and in other places along the front lines. Now, Kyiv’s steady battlefield gains and [continued support from the West](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/05/germany-tanks-ukraine-russia-war) have made it even more committed to a full-on military victory that would push Russia out of its territory. [“takes into account the new territorial realities.”](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/jan/05/russia-ukraine-war-live-no-rational-reason-west-hasnt-sent-tanks-says-zelenskiy-as-allies-offer-armoured-vehicles-instead?page=with:block-63b6bef58f084f5e7540c343#block-63b6bef58f084f5e7540c343) In other words, Ukraine accede its territory that Russia has captured or illegally annexed as a precondition for negotiations, something Moscow has demanded repeatedly. [Moscow has instead blamed Ukraine for firing on Russian troops, forcing them to defend themselves](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-clinches-us-german-armoured-vehicles-rejects-russian-truce-order-2023-01-06/). Ukraine has, in recent months, [cracked down on the Russian Orthodox Church within the country](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/world/europe/zelensky-ukraine-orthodox-church.html), scrutinizing it for being an arm of the Kremlin’s influence operations. Russia launched one of its biggest strikes just days before the new year, and also unleashed a [barrage on New Year’s Eve.](https://www.axios.com/2022/12/31/russian-missiles-strike-kyiv-new-year) “I think it’s to whitewash what Russia is doing and show the comparison — put in people’s heads domestically: ‘We’re going to have this ceasefire so people can attend church’ — as if Ukrainians are going to bomb a church, which doesn’t happen,” said Olga Lautman, a researcher and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. [increasingly bloody conflict](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/world/europe/ukraine-russia-himars-makiivka.html#:~:text=The%20strike%20by%20the%20HIMARS,refused%20to%20acknowledge%20serious%20losses.) would typically be a welcome development, but this announcement had largely been dismissed by Ukraine and [some of its Western partners](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/5/russia-ukraine-live-nato-warns-against-underestimating-russia) as an obvious political ploy. It also feeds strongly into Putin’s [baseless propaganda](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/world/europe/putin-ukraine-genocide.html) on why he prosecuted this invasion in the first place. “As a large number of Orthodox Christians reside in the area of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire to allow them to attend church services on Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day,” [said the Kremlin’s statement](http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70330). [“along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine,”](http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70330) according to a statement from the Kremlin.

More surprising was the announcement on Thursday that Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire starting at 12 a.m. Jan. 6 to allow citizens ...

Although China would not want to be seen as pro-American or pro-NATO, Calderon Martinez says, it is going through a particularly tricky moment with the end of the COVID-19 restrictions. “I think there was a real reluctance to open that door,” Garey says, given that Russia is a nuclear power. 30 demonstrated that Putin is looking for an ally to supply weaponry and basic economic goods, Cross says. NATO refrained from announcing a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine because that would have required willingness to use force, Garey says. Russia doesn’t have many tools at its disposal to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine, Calderon Martinez says. Garey believes the alliance’s support is largely reflected in the support the U.S. It is highly unlikely that NATO will decide to get involved with boots on the ground, he says. Intelligence and analysts suggest that Russia is running low on ammunition and equipment, Cross says. 6 to allow citizens living in the areas of hostilities and professing Orthodoxy to attend church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. How it will happen, we’ll have to see.” The country’s economy experienced a contraction in 2022 after being cut off from the global economy as a result of Western sanctions. It currently relies on China and India, which are willing to find ways around sanctions, she says.

Ukrainian and Russian troops battled in eastern regions on Thursday as Kyiv tried to push back occupying forces. The Ukrainian military said the Russians were ...

The Russian Orthodox Church has backed Putin's war in Ukraine. Ukraine is a major global grain producer and exporter. One appeared to be carrying a pet of some kind. "I really don't want you to practise that skill on (Russian) territory... The figure -- which would signify a huge loss of life for a single day -- could not be independently confirmed. "You have learned a great deal -- first of all: how to kill the enemy," Prigozhin told them on a bus. "The police should treat you with respect." Podolyak also cast the Russian Orthodox Church's Kirill as a "war propagandist" that had incited the "mass murder" of Ukrainians and the militarisation of Russia. "Proceeding from the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day," Putin said. US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday Washington was considering sending lighter Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine. It is located on a supply line between Donetsk and Luhansk. Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions.