Today marks Orthodox Christmas for some of Stamford & Rutland's Ukraine refugees
Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has been critical of Moscow's 36-hour ceasefire
Today marks Orthodox Christmas Day for lots of Ukrainians and millions of others across the globe, but celebrations will be "subdued" according to one refugee.
Maria Berestovska fled her home near Kyiv and moved to Stamford, Lincolnshire, with her daughter Hanna under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
She says around half the population celebrate an Orthodox Christmas, which falls on January 7th - but this year's festive period will be unlike any other:
'My guess is that it will be solemn and very quiet celebrations. Usually families would get together and generations of the same family sit at the table and spend some quality time together.'
Maria also said she'd understand why some refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme would fly back home to spend time with their loved ones:
'If you haven't seen your family for a very long time and you have the opportunity to do that, I can understand - though I still think it's quite risky especially if you have little children.'
Kremlin's temporary truce shunned by Kyiv
Russia's 36-hour ceasefire in place from Midday on January 6th was met with suspicion from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Russian-declared truce after nearly 11 months of fighting came unexpectedly, with Thursday's announcement ordering Russian troops fighting along the 684-mile front line to be called off until midnight on Sunday.
Kyiv officials dismissed the move as a ploy but did not clarify whether Ukrainian troops would follow suit.
Moscow did not say whether forces would retaliate if Ukraine kept fighting but the Moscow-appointed head of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said they would.
The Russian military said Ukrainian forces continued to shell its positions despite the truce - which Kyiv never agreed to.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces returned fire to suppress the attacks, though it was not entirely clear from the statement whether the attacks and return fire took place before or after the ceasefire was meant to start.
Western scepticism
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy questioned the Kremlin's intentions, accusing it of planning the fighting pause "to continue the war with renewed vigour".
"Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to stop the advance of our guys in the (eastern) Donbas (region) for a while and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilised people closer to our positions," Mr Zelensky said late on Thursday.
He did not, however, say outright that Kyiv would ignore Mr Putin's request.
US President Joe Biden echoed Mr Zelensky's wariness, saying it is "interesting" Mr Putin was ready to bomb hospitals, nurseries and churches during the western festive period.
"I think (Putin) is trying to find some oxygen," Mr Biden said without elaborating.
US state department spokesman Ned Price said Washington has "little faith in the intentions behind this announcement", saying Kremlin officials "have given us no reason to take anything that they offer at face value".
The truce order seems to be a ploy "to rest, refit, regroup, and ultimately re-attack", he said.