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Ukraine war: Putin orders 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas

By Will Vernon in Moscow & Samuel Horti in London

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

The ceasefire, scheduled to start at 12:00 Moscow time (09:00 GMT), will coincide with the Russian Orthodox Christmas.

Mr Putin asked Ukraine to reciprocate, but Kyiv quickly rejected the request.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: “Keep hypocrisy to yourself.”

The Kremlin statement appeared to stress that President Putin ordered his troops to stop fighting not because he was de-escalating - Putin never de-escalates - but because he had listened to an appeal from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Kirill had, earlier in the day, called for a Christmas truce to allow believers to attend church services for Orthodox Christmas.

The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas Day on 7 January, according to the Julian calendar.

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.

Mr Putin’s order called on Ukraine to reciprocate so that the “large numbers of Orthodox believers [who] reside in areas where hostilities are taking place” could celebrate Christmas Eve on Friday and Christmas Day on Saturday.

In a statement on Twitter soon after, Mr Podolyak said there could be no “temporary truce” until Russian forces withdrew from all the areas they had occupied.

Truce could demonise Ukraine

The Kremlin’s ceasefire fits in nicely with a common narrative in Moscow, one that is aimed primarily at the domestic audience. That is - that the Russians are the good guys, and it is Ukraine and the West that are threatening Russia.

The truce is also a handy tool that can be used to demonise Ukraine - as the Ukrainians have dismissed the proposal, Moscow will claim that Kyiv does not respect religious believers and has no desire for peace.

But it should not be forgotten that it was Russia who started this war by launching an unprovoked invasion of its neighbour.

The move also comes just a few days after a large number of Russian troops were killed in a Ukrainian strike on a temporary barracks in the occupied Ukrainian city of Makiivka.

The Russian Defence Ministry put the death toll at 89, making it the highest single loss of life admitted by Moscow since the war began.

Relatives of the dead, as well as some politicians and commentators, expressed anger over what happened in Makiivka and blamed incompetent military officials. The incident happened on New Year’s Eve - the most important holiday in the Russian calendar.

Political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya says that it is possible the Kremlin wants to ensure no more major loss of life occurs on another important Russian holiday.

“Putin really does not want a repetition of that on Orthodox Christmas Day,” she wrote.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked Mr Putin to declare a “unilateral” ceasefire in Ukraine so that both sides could negotiate.

The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches, but there are others.

Some people in Ukraine celebrate Christmas on 25 December, others on 7 January. Both days are public holidays in the country.

This year, for the first time, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine said it would allow its congregations to celebrate Christmas on 25 December, as do some other denominations in western Ukraine.

The church split with the similarly named Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in 2018.

The UOC itself was tied to Moscow’s religious leadership until Russia’s invasion, and some of its top clergy have been accused of still covertly supporting Moscow.

Putin

Prince Harry accuses Prince William of physical attack in book

Prince Harry has claimed his brother William physically attacked him, according to the Guardian, which says it has seen a copy of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir, Spare.

The newspaper reported that the book sets out an argument between the pair over Prince Harry’s wife Meghan.

“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” the Guardian quotes Harry.

Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have both said they will not comment.

The palaces - which represent Prince William and the King respectively - seem to have adopted the strategy that any controversial claims will fizzle out faster without a response.

Meanwhile, in a new clip previewing an interview with ITV, Prince Harry refuses to commit to attending the King’s coronation in May.

He says there is a lot “that can happen between now and then” and the “ball is in [the Royal Family’s] court”.

Prince Harry’s memoir will not be published until next Tuesday, but the Guardian said had it obtained a copy amid what it called “stringent prelaunch security”.

BBC News has not yet seen a copy of Spare.

The book has, however, accidentally been put on sale in Spain five days ahead of its anticipated publish date - entitled En La Sombra, which translates as “In the shadow”.

Book shops in the UK say they are under a strict embargo to ensure the autobiography is not released early.

According to the Guardian, the book claims the row was sparked by comments Prince William made to Prince Harry at his London home in 2019.

Prince Harry, the paper says, writes that his brother was critical of his marriage to Meghan Markle - and that Prince William described her as “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.

The Duke of Sussex reportedly writes that his brother was “parrot[ing] the press narrative” as the confrontation escalated.

Prince Harry is said to describe what happened next, including an alleged physical altercation.

“He set down [a glass of] water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast.

“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.

“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

Harry writes that William left but returned “looking regretful, and apologised”, the Guardian says.

When William left again, Harry is said to write that his brother “turned and called back: ‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this.’

“’You mean that you attacked me?’

“’I didn’t attack you, Harold,’” Prince William is said to have responded.

Harry’s name is not short for Harold - his actual full name is Henry Charles Albert David.

Dmitry Rogozin who lost his job as head of Russia’s space agency in July is known for his anti-Western rhetoric

Photographs suggest Harry regularly wore a dark necklace at events such as the Invictus Games, and on foreign tours with Meghan, as recently as September 2019.

The revelations create the bleak impression of a family fight, right at the centre of the monarchy, that shows no sign of being reconciled.

This is still the territory of an acrimonious divorce rather than the reconciliation.

Source: BBC