Putin's Ceasefire an Attempt to Discredit Ukraine: ISW

Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for a ceasefire on Orthodox Christmas may have been an attempt to discredit Ukraine and to portray Kyiv as being uninterested in peace talks, according to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

On Thursday, Putin instructed his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to impose a ceasefire in Ukraine ahead of Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7. He ordered a truce "along the entire line of contact" in the war in Ukraine between January 6 and 7 to allow citizens the chance to attend services over the holiday weekend.

Putin called on the Ukrainian side to also declare a truce over Orthodox Christmas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly rejected the request, pointing to times that Putin's forces failed to grant Ukraine such a respite.

In its latest assessment of the war, the ISW, a U.S.-based think tank, said Putin may have been seeking to secure a 36-hour pause for Russian troops to allow them to rest, recoup, and reorient to relaunch offensive operations in critical sectors of the front.

"Such a pause would disproportionately benefit Russian troops and begin to deprive Ukraine of the initiative," the ISW said.

According to experts with the ISW, Putin cannot "reasonably expect Ukraine to meet the terms of this suddenly declared ceasefire" and may have called for the truce "to frame Ukraine as unaccommodating and unwilling to take the necessary steps towards negotiations."

Putin's framing of the ceasefire on religious grounds also reinforced a Russian information operation that portrays Ukraine "as suppressing religious groups and positions Putin as the true protector of the Christian faith," the ISW said.

The think tank noted that Ukrainian and Western officials, including U.S President Joe Biden, were quick to highlight on Thursday the hypocrisy of Putin's ceasefire announcement, given that Russian forces continued striking Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure on December 25—when many Orthodox Ukrainians celebrate Christmas—and New Year.

Since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Russian Orthodox Church's influence in the country has declined, with some in Ukraine reportedly choosing to celebrate Christmas on December 25, according to the Gregorian calendar, as opposed to the Julian calendar.

Putin's forces pummeled Ukraine with a barrage of strikes over the holiday season, killing at least one person in the capital Kyiv and injuring 20 others hours before New Year's Eve celebrations began.

Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Thursday that Putin has rejected two different proposals for peace in recent months.

"Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to at least briefly stop the advance of our guys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized men closer to our positions," he said. "What will this bring? Just another increase in the death toll."

Newsweek reached out to the foreign ministries of Russia and Ukraine for comment.

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