The Kremlin says the West has reacted “cynically” to the Christmas ceasefire

Jan 10 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Ukraine and the West had reacted “cynically” to a 36-hour ceasefire proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to mark Orthodox Christmas.

“We met a cynical reaction from Kyiv and a number of Western leaders,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing.

Russia says the truce was declared for humanitarian purposes so Orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas, but Ukraine says Russian troops shelled dozens of front-line positions and settlements on Saturday when the truce was due to take effect.

Reporting by Reuters Editing by Gareth Jones

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