Kiev Continuing Shelling of Donbass While Russian Troops Observe Christmas Ceasefire: Russian MoD

The Russian military began observance of a 36-hour ceasefire regime in Ukraine at 12:00 noon on Friday, in accordance with a presidential decree. President Vladimir Putin ordered the ceasefire on Thursday after an appeal by Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church calling on "all parties in the internecine conflict" to silence their weapons.

Ukrainian forces have continued their shelling attacks on civilian settlements and the positions of Russian forces in Donbass, notwithstanding the Russian side's adherence to the Orthodox Christmas ceasefire, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated Friday.

According to the MoD, in the 24 hours prior to the ceasefire, Russian forces hit Ukrainian troops, tanks, armored personnel carriers, US-made artillery, trucks, and an S-300 radar in missile and air strikes, shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft, and intercepted Ukrainian drones and HIMARS rockets in fighting across the front.

Earlier in the day, the Donetsk People's Republic's mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues documenting shelling attacks said that Donetsk had been shelled with 155mm NATO-caliber shells three times on Friday in two hours after the unilateral Russian ceasefire entered into force.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the Christmas truce proposed by Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, accusing Moscow of seeking to use the truce as a "cover" to try to halt the Ukrainian military's advance and gain a "respite" to later continue fighting "with renewed vigor."

The Zelensky government's patrons in Washington also dismissed the ceasefire idea, with President Joe Biden accusing Vladimir Putin of "trying to find some oxygen" and claiming that Russia had "bomb[ed] hospitals and nurseries and churches" on Catholic Christmas on December 25 and the New Year's holiday. Biden did not elaborate on these serious allegations.

Most Orthodox Christians, including Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians, celebrate Christmas on January 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar. About 70 percent of Russians and Ukrainians self-identify as Orthodox. A portion of Ukraine's Orthodox community has faced repression in recent months for its association with the Moscow Patriarchate, with parishes and churchgoers reporting Ukrainian Security Service raids on churches and monasteries in a search for saboteurs, as well as vandalism and arson attacks.

Pope Francis of the Catholic Church congratulated Orthodox Christians on the upcoming Christmas holiday on Friday and called for peace in Ukraine. "In a special way, I would like to send greetings to our brothers and sisters of martyred Ukrainian people," Francis said at a prayer event.

"May the birth of the Savior bring comfort and hope, and inspire concrete steps that may finally lead to an end to the fighting and to peace. May we pray often for Ukraine and for peace," the Pope said.

Friday's partial ceasefire (by the Russian side) was made possible after an appeal by Russia's Patriarch Kirill, who issued an "appeal to all parties involved in the internecine conflict to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from 12:00 pm on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7, so that Orthodox people can attend services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

Ukraine's authorities broke off peace negotiations with Russia in April, reportedly on direct orders from its Western patrons, just as Moscow and Kiev appeared to be on the brink of an agreement. In the months since, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions more displaced, with Europe facing its most severe energy crisis since the 1970s oil crunch after unilaterally rejecting Russian energy deliveries. The continuation of the conflict has proven a boon for the US military-industrial complex, however, with weapons makers earning tens of billions of dollars, and US energy companies selling more expensive liquefied natural gas to the Europeans at several times the cost of Russian pipeline gas.