After more than 10 months of senseless war, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has suddenly decided to be gracious and halt attacks on Ukraine for 36 hours. At least, that’s what he claimed publicly Thursday, when he ordered the country’s Defense Ministry to implement a ceasefire from noon Friday until midnight Saturday in observance of the Orthodox Christmas holiday. “Based on the fact that there are a large number of citizens practicing the Orthodox faith in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day,” Putin said in a statement. Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 7 in Russia in keeping with the Russian Orthodox tradition. Putin’s announcement came shortly after his holy man-turned-warmonger Patriarch Kirill floated the idea of a holiday ceasefire. The Ukrainian president’s office has called the proposed Christmas ceasefire a “cynical trap” and propaganda ploy. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, noted that Ukraine is not the one “attacking foreign territory and killing civilians.” “Ukraine is only destroying members of the occupying army on its own territory,” Podolyak tweeted, saying there will only be a ceasefire when Russia leaves. “Save your hypocrisy,” he wrote.
