Ukraine, the United States and Germany have dismissed President Vladimir Putin’s unilateral cease-fire declaration as a way for Russia to regroup and possibly a tactical ploy to move more troops and equipment on the battlefield. Putin this week ordered his forces to observe a 36-hour truce for Orthodox Christmas starting Friday, the Kremlin said.
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a real cease-fire would come only when Russian troops withdraw from the country. “Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to … stop the advance of our guys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized men closer to our positions,” he said, referring to a region in eastern Ukraine. “What will this bring? Just another increase in the death toll.”
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
Erin Cunningham
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