Putin’s temporary ceasefire rebuked by Ukraine as a cover for gathering more supplies

A temporary ceasefire in Ukraine declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin this week was swiftly dismissed by Ukraine as a cover-up for Russian forces to gather more supplies and slow down Ukrainian forces in key battleground regions.

Putin offered the ceasefire for January 6 and 7, citing the days most orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas and attend Christmas mass services.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky sharply rejected the move, claiming it is the latest show of Russia’s hypocrisy.

“Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to stop the advance of our guys in the [eastern] Donbas [region] for a while and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized people closer to our positions,” Zelensky said during his nightly address to the public. 

This is the second time Ukraine has rejected a ceasefire offer from Russia, offering the same reasoning in July after Russia offered a temporary truce in order to open grain exports briefly in order to address the world grain shortage largely caused by the war he started.

At the time, Zelensky told The Wall Street Journal “Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest,” and warned that a ceasefire would give Russia a chance to replenish its supplies.

“Regarding this truce – they just want to get some kind of a pause for a day or two, to pull even more reserves, bring some more ammo. Russia cannot be trusted. Not a single word they say,” said Ukrainian Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, regarding Putin’s latest ceasefire declaration.