Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defence minister to impose a 36-hour ceasefire on the Ukrainian front line in order to allow believers attend the Orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service in both warring countries.
A statement from the Kremlin stressed that President Putin ordered his troops to stop fighting not because he was de-escalating, but because he had listened to an appeal from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill .
Putin asked Ukraine to reciprocate, but Kyiv quickly rejected the request, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the truce was an attempt to stop his country’s military advances in the east of the country.
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas Day on January 7, according to the Julian calendar, while some people in Ukraine celebrate Christmas on December 25 and others on January 7.
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