CODEPINK Calls on Zelensky, Biden and Congress to Push for Peace in Ukraine

CODEPINK & Fellowship of Reconcilliation

Ask Congress and the White House
to Publicly Support Russia’s 36-hour
Christmas Truce in Ukraine

(January 6, 2023) — On the heels of Russian President Putin ordering troops to observe a ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, CODEPINK calls on Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Biden and the US Congress to also support a ceasefire that could pave the way for a diplomatic settlement. CODEPINK urges Zelensky to reconsider his rejection of Putin’s truce order, which Zelensky described as a “cynical trap.”

Putin’s support for a Christmas truce followed the Russian Orthodox Church’s plea for a ceasefire, as well as a statement, signed by over a 1,000 US faith-based organizations, in support of a Christmas truce, similar to one that arose spontaneously in the trenches of World War I when in 1914 German and British soldiers along the Western Front put down their arms to jointly celebrate Christmas.

CODEPINK Co-founder Medea Benjamin said, “This Christmas truce from Russia’s side is a tiny ray of light in a horrific war. Ukraine should seize the moment and join the truce, and from there all sides need to move to the negotiating table without preconditions. The entire world is crying out for an end to this war. This could be the beginning of a true dialogue.”

CODEPINK’s Marcy Winograd, who coordinates the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, said, “A truce would set the stage for a negotiated peace to end a US-Russia proxy war that threatens nuclear catastrophe. It is incumbent upon Congress and the White House to acknowledge there is no military solution and appeal to Zelensky to support this truce.”

In December, CODEPINK, Fellowship of Reconciliation and National Council of Elders sent the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships the truce statement signed by ministers, priests, rabbis and imams in hopes of ending the fighting that has taken thousands of lives, displaced millions, further degraded the climate and worsened global hunger.

EAW Statement
Environmentalists Against War joins CODEPINK, Massachusetts Peace Action, and the Fellowship of Reconciliation in urging Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Biden and Congress to support the 36-hour Christmas Truce in Ukraine to pave the way for a diplomatic settlement.

So far, sad to say, only Russian President Putin has responded to this global plea for peace.

Please, Mr. President, stop Washington’s endless provocations of Russia, China, and Korea. Stop risking (and threatening) nuclear war. We need global harmony and an end to US hegemony.

Russia Calls for a Christmas Truce (Russian Orthodox Christmas)

Fellowship of Reconciliation

(January 6, 2023) — This morning when you wake up on the eve of the Russian Orthodox Christmas, a 36-hour Christmas Truce beginning at noon, Russian/Ukrainian time, on January 6th and ending at midnight on January 7th, will be in place.

Following Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I’s call for a truce to allow Orthodox Christians on both sides of the front line in Ukraine to attend Christmas services, Putin has ordered his Defense Ministry to implement a temporary unilateral ceasefire.

As signatories to the Christmas Truce in Ukraine petition, representing over 1200 faith leaders in the United States, we ask the question

We must magnify this small ray of light as much as possible especially given how unlikely it was. The Russian Orthodox Church is deeply entangled with Putin’s goals (for more on this topic, read from Wesley Granberg-Michaelson). Despite the odds being stacked against peace, in the midst of this horrific war with no end in sight, a Christmas truce is about to occur.

We urge people of faith and conscience yearning for peace to reach out to our nation’s political leaders. Our leaders in Washington have worked diligently to support and underwrite the Ukrainian’s defense against the Russian invasion. We ask them now to use their power to convince the Ukraine leadership that this is a small window of opportunity that they must take.

•  ACTION: Call the White House: 202-456-1111
ª  ACTION: Call the Congressional switchboard to be connected to your representatives: 202-224-3121