Officials wary as uncertain Russian truce begins in Ukraine

Name: WORLD
Price range: $

A tenuous 36-hour Russian cease-fire began Friday morning along the war front with Ukraine to observe the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday. Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered the cease-fire after church leaders proposed a temporary respite from fighting for the Jan. 7 celebrations. Ukrainian officials are skeptical of the move and have not formally agreed to the cease-fire. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman reported attacks by Ukrainians in the eastern Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, but news media weren’t able to verify his claims. Air raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital shortly after the Russian cease-fire went into effect, but no explosions were heard. The proposed cease-fire is planned to last through midnight Saturday Moscow time.

Why are western leaders skeptical of Putin’s motives? This is the first cease-fire to be declared in the 11-month war and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed the gesture could be used to slow Ukrainian military progress. Putin did not agree to proposed truces on Christmas or New Year’s Day, and at least 10 Ukrainian civilians were killed in a Russian attack on Dec. 24.

Dig deeper: Read Jenny Lind Schmitt’s report in WORLD Magazine about sitting with Ukrainians who are coping with the cost of the war.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.