Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered Russian armed forces to hold a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday on Jan. 6-7, the Kremlin said.
“Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the defense minister of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire from 12:00 on Jan. 6, 2023 until 24:00 on January 7, 2023 along the entire line of contact between the sides in Ukraine,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin urged Kyiv to follow its example and order the Ukrainian military to observe a ceasefire too.
“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ,” according to Putin’s order, addressed to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and published on the Kremlin’s website.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed Kirill’s call as “a cynical trap and an element of propaganda”. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had proposed a Russian troop withdrawal earlier, before December 25, but Russia rejected it.
(With inputs from agencies)
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