JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden was reluctant to respond further to a ceasefire call during Russian Christmas by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was also rejected by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
President Biden assessed that the 10-month war in Ukraine with tens of thousands of lives lost had prompted the Russian president to offer a 36-hour ceasefire.
Asked about the proposed ceasefire, Biden told reporters at the White House: "I am reluctant to respond to anything Putin said," Reuters reported on January 6.
"He wants to bomb the hospital, hospital and church on the 25th and New Year's Day. Tell him he's looking for oxygen," President Biden explained.
Earlier, the Kremlin said President Putin had ordered a ceasefire from midday Friday, following calls for a Christmas ceasefire by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
As previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his defense minister to implement a ceasefire in Ukraine for 36 hours on January 6 and 7, to allow Orthodox Christians to attend Christmas services, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
Separately, Kyiv rejected an offer of ceasefire during Orthodox Christmas, saying there would be no ceasefire until Russia withdrew pollinators from the occupied territories.
Ukrainian officials on Thursday said heavy fighting broke out in the eastern region of the country. The Ukrainian military said Russia was focused on attacks on the Bakhmut sector in the Donetsk region.
In addition, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday that an estimated 800 Russian troops had been killed in recent days, mostly in fighting in the Donetsk region. However, that figure - which means the loss of many lives in one day - cannot be independently confirmed.
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