Trump Expects Iran War to End After U.S. Midterms 
Trump Advisers Warn Iran War Could Last Until 2029 
Trump’s Iran War Draws ‘Forever War’ Comparisons 
Trump Calls for Five-Year George Washington Smithsonian Exhibit 
Trump Rejects Saudi Request for U.S. Strikes on Houthis 
US Caribbean Vessel Strike Kills Three 
Trump Promises $5,000 Dividend if Republicans Win Midterms 
Israel Orders UK East Jerusalem Consulate Closure 
Saudi Arabia Shuts East-West Oil Pipeline After Drone Attack 
Gulf Ministers to Meet Iran in Oman Over Hormuz Shipping Deal 
Trump Says He Has No Regrets Over Iran War 
Iran Attacks 10 Ships as Hormuz Conflict Escalates 
Russian Drone Strikes Hit Ukraine-Moldova Border, Kyiv and Sumy 
Taiwan Flags Russian Film Screening as China-Japan Influence Push 
Kim Jong Un Praises North Korean Troops Fighting Overseas 
South Korea Says $350 Billion US Investment Talks Progressing 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Ukraine rejected the call by Russian leader Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire in order to mark Orthodox Christmas. Kyiv said there would be no truce until Russia completely withdraws from Ukraine.
Ukrainian presidential aide Mikhailo Podolyak responded to Putin’s order on Thursday of a 36-hour truce to celebrate Orthodox Christmas, which starts on January 6. The truce order by Putin was due to a call by Patriarch Kirill, who is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. Podolyak had already rejected Kirill’s call for a truce earlier, describing such a call as part of propaganda and saying that the Russian Orthodox Church, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is a “war propagandist.”
“ROC is not an authority for global Orthodoxy & acts as a ‘war propagandist.’ ROC called for the genocide of Ukrainians, incited mass murder & insists on even greater militarization of RF. Thus, ROC’s statement about ‘Christmas truce’ is a cynical trap & an element of propaganda,” tweeted Podolyak.
“First, Ukraine doesn’t attack foreign territory & doesn’t kill civilians. As RF does. Ukraine destroys only members of the occupation army on its territory…Second. RF must leave the occupied territories – only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’. Keep hypocrisy to yourself,” said the presidential aide.
Ukraine has previously said that any call by Russia for a ceasefire would be an attempt by Moscow to secure a temporary delay for its troops to attack. Both countries also made clear on Thursday that there would be no peace talks anytime soon, rejecting an offer by Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan to mediate as Erdogan spoke with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US President Joe Biden also weighed in on Putin’s truce proposal, telling reporters that he was “reluctant” to respond to anything that the Russian leader has said, but noted how Putin was willing to bomb civilian targets in Ukraine on December 25 and on New Year’s.
Biden said that Putin may be trying to find “oxygen” after suffering major losses in recent days and the continued struggle in the war that has been going on for more than 10 months.
