Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday appeared to reject a 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin announced the proposal after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill on Thursday called for a temporary truce during the festive season.Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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04:09am: US weapons package for Ukraine includes 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles
A new US weapons package for Ukraine will include about 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, with one of the officials saying the package will be worth roughly $2.8 billion.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that sending the Bradleys, a US Army staple, to Ukraine was being considered to help fight Russia's invasion. Russia's ambassador accused the United States of plotting a "dangerous course."
11:30pm: Russian ceasefire in Ukraine will 'do nothing' for peace, says UK Foreign Secretary
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Thursday that a 36-hour Russian ceasefire in Ukraine for Orthodox Christmas would "do nothing to advance the prospects for peace".
"Russia must permanently withdraw its forces, relinquish its illegal control of Ukrainian territory and end its barbaric attacks against innocent civilians," he wrote on Twitter.
A 36 hour pause of Russian attacks will do nothing to advance the prospects for peace.
Russia must permanently withdraw its forces, relinquish its illegal control of Ukrainian territory and end its barbaric attacks against innocent civilians.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) January 5, 2023
22:01pm: Russian ceasefire proposal ‘cannot be taken seriously’, says Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs
Russia’s proposal of a ceasefire “can not and should not be taken seriously”, said Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba in a tweet.
9:19pm: Zelensky says Russia wants to use ceasefire as ‘cover’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian plans to use a 36-hour ceasefire proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to further its military aims in Ukraine.
Zelensky said Russia wants to use the temporary truce as a “cover” to stop Ukrainian military advances in Donbas and bring in more equipment.
"The war will end when Russian soldiers leave Ukraine or are thrown out," Zelensky added.
7:44pm: UN chief would welcome Ukraine truce, spokesman says
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would welcome any truce in Ukraine during Orthodox Christmas, “knowing that this will not replace a just peace in line with the UN Charter and international law,” a UN spokesman said on Thursday.
Ukraine spurned an announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday of a 36-hour ceasefire to mark Orthodox Christmas, saying there would be no truce until Russia withdraws its invading forces from occupied land.
7:09pm: US to send Ukraine nearly $3 billion in military aid including dozens of Bradley vehicles, officials say
A new US weapons package for Ukraine of nearly $3 billion in military aid will include about 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, two US officials said on Thursday.
The latest security package for Ukraine is expected to be unveiled on Friday, the officials said.
6:47pm: UN chief disbands fact-finding mission into Ukraine prison attack
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has disbanded a fact-finding mission into a July attack in the front-line Ukrainian town of Olenivka that killed prisoners held by Moscow-backed separatists because the UN mission cannot deploy to the site, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.
Russia and Ukraine had both requested the investigation which Guterres had announced in August.
6:44pm: Biden says Putin trying to find 'oxygen' with truce proposal
Russian President Vladimir Putin is "trying to find some oxygen" by floating a 36-hour ceasefire, US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday when asked about Moscow's truce proposal.
The Kremlin said Putin had ordered a ceasefire from midday on Friday after a call for a Christmas truce from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Ukraine spurned the offer from Putin for the 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas, saying there would be no truce until Russia withdraws its invading forces from occupied land.
>> ‘Tearing ourselves away’: Ukrainians break with Russian Orthodox Christmas tradition
6:35pm: ‘Little indication’ that Ukraine plans to follow Russian plans for ceasefire
There is “little indication so far” that Ukraine plans to abide by Russia’s suggested ceasefire on January 6-7, said FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago, reporting from Kyiv.
“Ukraine offered its own ceasefire over the period of Christmas on December 25 - something that was outright rejected by Russia,” Shrago said.
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Thursday called the ceasefire proposed by Putin a “cynical trap”.
5:22pm: Ceasefire proposal a ‘propaganda victory’ for Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer of a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine is a “propaganda victory”, says FRANCE 24’s international affairs editor, Angela Diffley.
“It certainly is a victory in PR terms that Putin could probably do with at the moment - things haven’t been particularly going Moscow’s way,” Diffley says. “The ball is now in Zelensky’s court.”
5:07pm: Ukraine calls Russian ceasefire declaration 'hypocrisy'
A senior Ukrainian official dismissed a 36-hour ceasefire proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday as hypocrisy, and said a "temporary truce" would be possible only when Russia leaves territory it is occupying in Ukraine.
"The Russian Federation must leave the occupied territories - only then will it have a 'temporary truce'. Keep hypocrisy to yourself," presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
4:15pm: Putin orders ceasefire in Ukraine on January 6-7, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Russian Defense Minister to cease fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Russian troops must hold fire for 36 hours from 1200 on January 6.
"Given the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of combat, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend church services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ," the Kremlin's statement added.
3:48pm: Erdogan offers mediation to secure lasting end to war in call to to Zelensky
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Thursday that Ankara was ready to take on mediation and moderation duties to secure a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.
A readout from Erdogan's office said Turkey also offered diplomatic support regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
3:32pm: Turkey's Erdogan to speak with Zelensky after Russia talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to follow the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin with a separate conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later on Thursday.
The Turkish leader has used his good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv to try and mediate an end to the war, hosting two earlier rounds of peace talks and helping to strike a UN-backed agreement restoring Ukrainian grain deliveries across the Black Sea. Erdogan has repeatedly tried to bring Putin and Zelensky to Turkey for a peace summit.
Erdogan's call for a "unilateral" ceasefire followed a proposal earlier Thursday by Russia's spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill for an Orthodox Christmas truce this week.
2:23pm: Putin says ready for Ukraine talks if Kyiv accepts 'new territorial realities'
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine, Syria and energy issues with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
According to the Kremlin, Putin "acknowledged the destructive role of the West, pumping weapons into Kyiv, providing information and guidance".
Putin said that Russia was ready for a dialogue on Ukraine, but that Kyiv must fulfil the previously announced requirements and take into account "new territorial realities".
1:54pm: France’s decision to send AMX-10 RCs could mount pressure on Germany
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said his government would send light AMX-10 RC armoured combat vehicles to help Ukraine in its war effort. Reporting from Kyiv, FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago said the announcement could well start pushing other nations to make similar commitments, particularly on Germany to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
AMX-10 RCs are “something between a tank and an armoured vehicle with a heavy main gun mounted on wheels. It’s designed specifically to be used for fast reconnaissance, but it’s also a weapon that has teeth, it can take on other tanks", explained Shrago.
12:03pm: Germany will adjust Ukraine arms support to battlefield needs: vice chancellor
Germany will always adjust its arms deliveries to Ukraine according to the needs on the battlefield, said Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck after France announced a plan to send light combat vehicles to Kyiv.
"We will not stop to deliver weapons to Ukraine ... We will always adjust our deliveries to the need of the battlefield," Habeck said at a Norwegian business conference, speaking English.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday told his Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his government would send light AMX-10 RC armoured combat vehicles to help in the war against Russia.
Ukraine has called for heavy tanks amid heavy fighting around the Bakhmut sector of the Donetsk region
11:16am: Erdogan tells Putin unilateral ceasefire needed in Ukraine
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Vladimir Putin in a phone call that peace efforts in the Russia-Ukraine war should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a "vision for a fair solution", according to the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan and the Russian president have spoken repeatedly since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February. Turkey acted as mediator alongside the United Nations to set up a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports.
"President Erdogan said calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a vision for a fair solution," the readout said, adding that Erdogan reminded Putin of the positive outcomes of the grains corridor deal.
10:12am: NATO chief warns against underestimating Russia
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that it would be dangerous to underestimate Russia and President Vladimir Putin's ambitions amid the war in Ukraine.
"They have shown a great willingness to tolerate losses and suffering," Stoltenberg told a business conference in Norway.
"We have no indication that President Putin has changed his plans and goals in Ukraine. So it's dangerous to underestimate Russia."
9:57am: Patriarch Kirill calls for Orthodox Christmas ceasefire
Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas, celebrated this week by both countries.
"I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and of all Rus, appeal to all parties involved in the internecine conflict with a call to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 to 00:00 on January 7 so that Orthodox people can attend services on Christmas Eve and on the day of the Nativity of Christ," he said on the church's official website.
A key pillar of President Putin's ruling apparatus, the 75-year-old Kirill has championed conservative religious values and has supported the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
