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Ukraine has dismissed the cease-fire as a cheap stalling tactic.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a temporary cease-fire in his country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine in order to recognize Russian Orthodox Christmas holidays. The cease-fire began this morning at 4:00 AM US eastern time, and his scheduled to last for 36 hours into the weekend.

“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ,” Putin said.

While the Russian forces have acquiesced to the ceasefire, the Ukrainian forces have mostly dismissed it as a ploy on Russia’s part to buy time and appeal to its citizenry with propaganda.

“Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to stop the advance of our guys in the Donbas for a while and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized people closer to our positions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday.

“Everyone in the world knows how the Kremlin uses lulls in the war to continue the war with new force,” he added.

President Zelensky dismissed Putin's words about an Orthodox Christmas ceasefire.

"Those who continued the terror against our country and sent their people to be slaughtered definitely do not value life and even more so do not seek peace," Zelensky said. https://t.co/OCZtOjKRfi

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) January 5, 2023

US officials and analysts echoed Zelensky’s feelings on the matter. “Putin cannot reasonably expect Ukraine to meet the terms of this suddenly declared cease-fire and may have called for the cease-fire to frame Ukraine as unaccommodating and unwilling to take the necessary steps toward negotiations,” said the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank.

“Such a pause would disproportionately benefit Russian troops and begin to deprive Ukraine of the initiative.”

It is not known if the Ukrainian forces have engaged in attacks on the Russian forces at this time.