Russia Denies ‘Christmas Ceasefire’ In Ukraine, Says ‘Topic Not On Agenda’

Zelensky called on Russia to start withdrawing its troops by Christmas as first step towards peace deal, but Peskov refused adding no peace with Kyiv until Zelenskiy accepted “realities” on ground.

Destroyed house nearr Kherson shipyards seen after a missile attack on Karabell Island in Kherson, Ukraine, on December 14, 2022.

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As the deadlock between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow’s February 24 invasion nears 10 months, no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards, said Kremlin with fighting looking to drag through the winter, reported the Guardian. 

Responding to a question on Wednesday whether Moscow had seen proposals for a “Christmas ceasefire” , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “No, no such offers have been received from anybody. This topic is not on the agenda,” reported the publication. 

In his regular evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said, “There is no calm on the frontline.” 

“Every day and every metre is given extremely hard. And especially where the entire tactic of the occupiers boils down to the destruction of everything in front of them with artillery – so that only bare ruins and craters in the ground remain,” he added. 

Earlier this week, Zelensky called on Russia to start withdrawing its troops by Christmas as the first step towards a peace deal, but Peskov said on Tuesday there would be no peace with Kyiv until Zelenskiy accepted the “realities” on the ground – referring to Russian control over parts of four Ukrainian regions it annexed in September following coercive and illegal “referendums”. 

After a series of lightning Ukrainian counter offensives, Kyiv has regained control over around half of the territory Moscow captured in the first weeks of its invasion.

As per the report citing military analysts, a winter deadlock could now set in even as fierce fighting continues especially in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, where Russian forces are pushing to capture the town of Bakhmut.

The White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said the scale of the ongoing violence tempered hopes for an imminent end to hostilities.

Separately, Canada said on Wednesday it would revoke a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia’s biggest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany.