Biden says Putin trying to find 'oxygen' with truce proposal - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden suggested Vladimir Putin's conflict successful Ukraine aft 10 months of warfare and thousands of lives mislaid had prompted the Russian president to connection a 36-hour truce, saying, "I deliberation he's trying to find immoderate oxygen."

The Kremlin said Putin had ordered a ceasefire from midday connected Friday aft a telephone for a Christmas truce by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, caput of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ukraine spurned the ceasefire connection implicit Russia's Orthodox Christmas, saying determination would beryllium nary truce until Moscow withdraws its invading forces from occupied land.

Asked astir the projected truce, Biden told reporters astatine the White House: "I'm reluctant to respond to thing that Putin says. I recovered it absorbing that helium was consenting to weaponry hospitals and nurseries and churches ... connected the 25th and New Year's. I mean, I deliberation he's trying to find immoderate oxygen."

Russia's ambassador successful Washington, Anatoly Antonov, accused the U.S. medication of lacking immoderate tendency for a governmental settlement, adding that "even" the unilaterally declared ceasefire was being labelled an effort to find immoderate oxygen.

"All this means that Washington is acceptable connected warring with america 'to the past Ukrainian,' and the destiny of Ukraine's radical does not interest the Americans astatine all," Antonov said successful remarks connected the embassy's Facebook leafage that were framed arsenic responses to media questions.

Putin's ceasefire would statesman successful clip for reflection of Christmas by Russia's Orthodox Church connected Jan. 7. Ukraine's main Orthodox Church has been recognized arsenic autarkic by the religion hierarchy since 2019 and rejects immoderate conception of allegiance to the Moscow patriarch. Many Ukrainian believers person shifted their calendar to observe Christmas connected Dec. 25 arsenic successful the West.

It would beryllium the archetypal large truce of the much than 10-month-old warfare that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and devastated ample swaths of Ukraine.

Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and Elaine Monaghan; penning by Susan Heavey and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Howard Goller and Stephen Coates

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