Peskov called cynical Ukraine’s reaction to the Christmas ceasefire

The reaction of the Ukrainian side and many Western leaders to the Christmas termination is “incomprehensible and cynical,” said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.

“We met a completely incomprehensible, inexplicable reaction, a rather cynical reaction from, first of all, Kyiv, as well as from many Western leaders. I repeat once again: cynical and inexplicable,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

At the same time, Peskov believes that the truce pursued exclusively humanitarian goals, so that those Christians who celebrated Christmas could pray in churches. “If it helped at least someone to do it, it means that it has already achieved its goal,” he added.

January 5 Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed introduce a ceasefire for 36 hours from noon on January 6 to the end of January 7 in the zone of the special operation in Ukraine. The head of state noted that a large number of Orthodox Christians live in the areas of hostilities, so he called on the Ukrainian side to also declare a ceasefire.

In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the proposal, saying that Moscow, under the pretext of silence in Ukraine, is trying to hide the preparation of a “new wave of aggression.” Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, called this step hypocritical on his Twitter, saying that a “temporary truce” could only begin after the withdrawal of troops.