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Russian President Vladimir Putin once again claimed on Sunday that he is open to negotiation over his invasion of Ukraine as Ukrainian soldiers celebrated Christmas on the frontlines of the war. Photo courtesy of Ukraine Defense Ministry/Twitter
Dec. 25 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin once again claimed Sunday that he is open to negotiation over his invasion of Ukraine as Ukrainian soldiers celebrated Christmas on the frontlines of the war.
Putin repeated his line that he is open to negotiation for what he called “acceptable” outcomes of the war in an interview with a Russian government broadcaster as analysts said Saturday that Russian forces “may seek to initiate a tactical or operational pause” in the war effort.
“We are acting in the right direction, we are protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we simply have no other choice but to protect our citizens,” Putin said in the interview.
“But we are ready to negotiate with all the participants in this process about some acceptable outcomes, but this is their business. It’s not we who refuse negotiations, but them.”
However, Russia has still made no real efforts to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal of troops from Ukraine more than 10 months into the invasion and despite its illegal attempts to annex parts of the country into Russia earlier this year.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a statement on Twitter that Putin “needs to come back to reality.”
“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens. There are no other ‘countries, motives, geopolitics,'” Podolyak said.
“Russia doesn’t want negotiations but tries to avoid responsibility. This is obvious, so we are moving to the Tribunal.”
Putin’s comments came as the Ukrainian Defense Ministry shared photos of Ukrainian soldiers celebrating Christmas on the frontlines of the war.
“Unfortunately, the holidays have a bitter aftertaste for us this year. And we can feel the traditional spirit of Christmas differently. Dinner at the family table cannot be so tasty and warm, there may be empty chairs around it and our houses and streets can’t be so bright,” Zelensky said Saturday.
“And Christmas bells can ring not so loudly and inspiringly. Through air raid sirens, or even worse — gunshots and explosions. And all this together can pose a bigger threat. It is a disappointment.”
Zelensky, who is Jewish, added that “no kamikaze drones are capable of extinguishing the Christmas Dawn” as the country faced air raid sirens on Sunday morning.
“We will sing Christmas carols, cheerier than ever, louder than the sound of a generator. We will hear the voices and greetings of relatives in our hearts — even if communication service and the Internet are down,” he said.
“And even in total darkness, we will find each other — to hug each other tightly. And if there is no heat, we will give a big hug to warm each other.”
The British Defense Ministry, which has provided intelligence updates throughout the war in Ukraine, said in a statement Saturday that Russian forces are experiencing shortages in personnel and munitions.
“Russia has likely limited its long-range missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure to around once a week due to the limited availability of cruise missiles,” the British Defense Ministry said.
“Similarly, Russia is unlikely to have increased its stockpile of artillery munitions enough to enable large-scale offensive operations.”
More than 7.8 million refugees will not be celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah at home, data from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees shows.
