Russian President Vladimir Putin has unilaterally declared a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Putin’s overture, however, saying that Russia wants to use Christmas as a pretext to stop Ukrainian advances in the Russian-occupied Donbas region. Putin’s declaration comes after about 1,000 U.S. faith leaders called in an open letter last month for a ceasefire during the holidays, inspired by the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I, arguing that a pause in the fighting could create room for negotiations to peacefully end the conflict. We air a recent sermon by Bishop William Barber, one of the signatories, in which he discussed the need for a Christmas truce. “We need a ceasefire to interrupt this warring madness,” Barber said. “A ceasefire doesn’t mean both sides are equally culpable for starting the war, but it can have the impact of stopping the massive, massive killing on both sides.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2023-01-06T13:36:23+00:00) “We Need Ceasefires Everywhere”: Bishop William Barber’s Message of Peace for Ukraine & the World. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/06/we-need-ceasefires-everywhere-bishop-william-barbers-message-of-peace-for-ukraine-the-world/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.