Russia Excludes Truce in Ukraine onChristmas

The Russian presidency (the Kremlin) refused to reach a truce in Ukraine on the occasion of Christmas and New Year holidays.

The Russian leadership pledged again to continue the battles while ruling out the possibility of stopping the fighting in Ukraine with the approach of the end of the year holidays.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz considered that Russian President Vladimir Putin had missed all his goals in the war in Ukraine.

"No proposal has been submitted by any party, this issue is not on the agenda," said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian presidency, regarding a possible truce during the holidays.

Also, Russia refused to withdraw its armed forces from Ukraine and confirmed the continuation of the battles.

On the other hand, Peskov refused to set a date for President Vladimir Putin's annual speech to both chambers of the Russian parliament, which he did not deliver this year.

And the Kremlin announced Monday that Putin will not hold his traditional press conference at the end of the year, without giving explanations, amid military setbacks incurred by Russian forces in Ukraine and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.