Zelenskiy rejects Russian ceasefire, says war will end ‘when your soldiers leave’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy flatly rejected Russia’s order for a Russian Orthodox Christmas truce that began at noon on Friday and will end at midnight on Saturday. He said it was a ploy to halt the progress of Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region and bring in more reinforcements.
“Now they want to use Christmas as a cover, even if only briefly, to stop the advances of our guys in the Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized troops closer to our positions,” Zelenskiy said in his video address on Thursday at the night
“What will this give them? Just another increase in their total losses.”
Zelenskiy, speaking in Russian rather than Ukrainian, said ending the war meant “ending your country’s aggression … And the war will end when your soldiers leave or we drive them out.”
Updated at 0633 GMT
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Putin ally fights to control salt and gypsum mines near Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, US says
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in taking control of the salt and gypsum mines near the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to a White House official.
Yevgeny Prigozhin is the founder of Russia’s most powerful mercenary force, the Wagner Group. Wagner has played a key role in the Russian offensive against Bakhmut.
There were indications that monetary motives were driving Russia and Prigozhin’s “obsession” with Bakhmut, the US official said.
The United States has previously accused Russian mercenaries of exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan and elsewhere to help finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine, a charge Russia dismissed as “anti-Russian rage”:
US State Department calls ceasefire proposal ‘cynical’
In Washington, US President Joe Biden, the State Department and the Pentagon greeted Putin’s order with skepticism. Biden said he thought the Russian president was “trying to find some oxygen.”
Ukraine has achieved some battlefield successes in recent months, although Russia has maintained a barrage of missiles and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy plants, leaving millions without power at times in the dead of winter. Russia has denied targeting civilians since its invasion began on February 24, but strikes included Christmas Day and New Year attacks on civilian infrastructure, according to Kyiv.
“There’s one word that describes it better and it’s ‘cynical,'” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press conference on Putin’s cease-fire order.
“Our concern … is that the Russians will try to use any temporary lull in the fighting to rest, equip, regroup and eventually strike again,” Price said.
Updated at 0632 GMT
Zelenskiy rejects Russian ceasefire, says war will end ‘when your soldiers leave’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy flatly rejected Russia’s order for a Russian Orthodox Christmas truce that began at noon on Friday and will end at midnight on Saturday. He said it was a ploy to halt the progress of Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region and bring in more reinforcements.
“Now they want to use Christmas as a cover, even if only briefly, to stop the advances of our guys in the Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized troops closer to our positions,” Zelenskiy said in his video address on Thursday at the night
“What will this give them? Just another increase in their total losses.”
Zelenskiy, speaking in Russian rather than Ukrainian, said ending the war meant “ending your country’s aggression … And the war will end when your soldiers leave or we drive them out.”
Updated at 0633 GMT
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you updates over the next little while.
Our top story this morning: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed a unilateral Russian order for a 36-hour ceasefire from Friday, saying it was a ploy to halt the progress of Ukrainian troops in the eastern region of Donbas in order for Moscow to incorporate more of its own forces.
Zelenskiy, speaking in Russian rather than Ukrainian, said ending the war meant “ending your country’s aggression … And the war will end when your soldiers leave or we drive them out.”
Here are the other key recent developments:
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The US State Department expressed skepticism about the ceasefire announced by Putin, calling it “cynical” given Moscow’s attack on Ukraine on New Year’s Day and saying the US had “little faith” in the ad’s intentions.
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Putin’s announcement came hours after the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, called for a ceasefire and a Christmas truce in Ukraine. In a statement, Kirill said he appealed to “all parties involved in the intestinal conflict” for a ceasefire, so that “the Orthodox can attend services on Christmas Eve and the day of the Nativity of Christ “.
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Germany will join the US in supplying an additional Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine, the White House has announced, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden spoke by phone. The two leaders “expressed their common determination to continue providing necessary financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine for as long as necessary,” the White House said in a statement.
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The US believes that Vladimir Putin’s ally Yevgeny Prigozhin is interested in taking control of salt and gypsum mines near the Ukrainian-controlled town of Bakhmut, a White House official said on Thursday. There were signs that monetary motives were driving Russia and Prigozhin’s “obsession” with Bakhmut, the official added. Prigozhin is the owner of the Russian private military company Wagner Group.
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German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said supplying arms to Ukraine was a “good decision” during a briefing on Thursday. Habeck’s department must approve arms exports.