Orthodox Christmas celebrations take place for Ukrainians living in Cornwall
The 'special event' will be hosted at Cornwall College, 11 months on from Russian invasion of Ukraine
Today marks Orthodox Christmas Day for lots of Ukrainians and millions of others across the globe.
In Cornwall - refugees and students will be brought together to meet, sing, dance and celebrate the Orthodox Christian Christmas at Cornwall College.
The special event has been hosted to bring together the community from 1pm-2.30pm.
It’s been 11 months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and since then, hundreds of refugees have been calling Cornwall their temporary home - and free lessons have been set up to help dozens of Ukrainian refugees with weekly lessons to learn basic English and communication skills.
One learner says: "I'm really grateful for this chance of learning English for free, meeting with other Ukrainians and letting our children play together".
Many who have been involved with the courses will be joining in with the special event today (Saturday 7 January).
Another added: "I am infinitely grateful for these lessons, for the flexibility of teachers in choosing topics for study, which allowed me to get a higher position at work. Now I can talk on the phone with the British, solve my own problems with the bank and real estate agencies. I have no fear of being misunderstood.
"I study with pleasure and do not miss classes, because here I get acquainted not only with the language grammar and culture of Britain, but also delve into the intricacies of colloquial speech".
Kremlin's temporary truce shunned by Kyiv
Russia's call for a 36-hour ceasefire from Midday on January 6th, to coincide with Orthodox Christmas, 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 on the 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.
Both Russian and Ukrainian officials accused each other of continuing fighting in some areas after the supposed truce was in force.
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.