US President Joe Biden believes that Russia's proposed ceasefire in Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas Day is an attempt to get some oxygen.

As previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a cease-fire along the entire line of contact between the sides in Ukraine.

"Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to introduce from 12.00 on January 6, 2023 to 24.00 on January 7, 2023 a cease-fire regime along the entire line of combat contact of the parties in Ukraine. Based on the fact that a large number of Orthodox citizens live in the areas of combat operations, we urge the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Ukraine rejected the cease-fire proposal, saying there would be no cease-fire until Moscow "withdraws its forces from occupied lands." "They now want to use Christmas as a cover, however briefly, to stop the advance of our guys in Donbass and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized troops closer to our positions," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.