Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a 36-hour ceasefire throughout Orthodox Christmas, but fighting appeared to continue in Ukraine hours after the ceasefire started Friday morning.
“Due to the fact that a large number of citizens of the Orthodox faith live in several areas of the conflict zone, we call on the Ukrainian side to observe a ceasefire and allow them to visit Christmas Eve services, as well as those on the day of the birth of Christ,” according to a Kremlin press statement, per NPR.
In the eastern Donbas region where intense fighting has been taking place the last few weeks, “nothing had changed in the area despite the purported pause,” The New York Times reported.
What’s happening in Ukraine now?
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that Russian soldiers were initially following orders and had stopped firing, but Ukraine continued shelling, so Russian troops began fighting back, per the Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the cease-fire “a move designed to allow Russian soldiers time to rest and get reinforcements and prevent Ukrainian advances,” per CNBC.
President Joe Biden has also offered some skepticism to the reasoning behind the ceasefire, saying he believes Putin is “trying to find some oxygen” amid recent Ukrainian advances, The Washington Post reported.