Zelenskyy says Russia rejected an Easter truce with Ukraine and that it shows how Russian leaders regard the Orthodox faith

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had rejected a proposal for an Easter truce.
• He said in a Thursday statement that this showed how Russia’s leaders “regard the Christian faith.”
• UN Chief Antonio Guterres had called for a four-day “pause” to the fighting over the period.

Russia rejected a proposal to hold a truce with Ukraine over the Orthodox Christian Easter period, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a statement on Thursday.

“This is a very clear indication of how the leaders of this state regard the Christian faith and one of the most joyful and important holidays,” read Zelenskyy’s statement, which was posted on his Telegram channel.

“But we still have hope. Hope for peace, hope that life will conquer death,” he added.

The temporary ceasefire was first proposed by United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, who appealed on Tuesday for a four-day “pause” to the fighting as Russia massed troops on Ukraine’s eastern front for a renewed offensive in the Donbas.

“The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen,” Guterres told reporters at a briefing.

The four-day ceasefire would allow for the “opening of a series of humanitarian corridors,” he said.

The Orthodox Christian Easter, which is based on the Julian calendar, typically falls on a date later than the Western Christian Easter Sunday, which is derived from the Gregorian calendar and was celebrated on April 17.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the calls for a ceasefire were “insincere,” per The New York Times.

Polyanskiy claimed that an Easter truce would “provide Kyiv nationalists breathing room to regroup” and receive more military equipment, the outlet reported.

“I really don’t know what’s the point of entering in the game with Ukrainians on such issues,” Polanskiy also said, per The Washington Post.

Eastern Orthodoxy is Russia’s largest religious denomination, and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has staunchly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is also an overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian nation, with 78% of adults there identifying as Orthodox, per a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center.