Orthodox Christmas - Putin orders short ceasefire in Ukraine
Created: 05/01/2023 17:13
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
© IMAGO/Mikhail Klimentyev
Russia's ruler Putin has ordered a ceasefire before the Orthodox Christmas.
It is short, but should allow for a quiet celebration.
Munich/Moscow – Unexpected developments in the Ukraine war: Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin announced a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine shortly before the orthodox Christmas celebrations.
In accordance with the appeal of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Putin ordered a ceasefire from Friday from 10:00 a.m. to Saturday at 10:00 p.m. (Central European Time), the Kremlin announced on Thursday (January 5).
The Russian army should therefore stop fighting on the entire front.
A large number of Orthodox people live in the area of the fighting, the statement said, quoted by the Russian state agency TASS.
Therefore, the Ukrainian side is called on to also order a ceasefire and thus allow the population to attend church services.
However, the Ukrainian government is unlikely to heed the Kremlin's call.
Kyiv had already rejected such a ceasefire after Kirill called it a "cynical trap".
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The influential head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, had previously called for a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Orthodox Christmas celebrations so that believers could attend mass.
The Eastern Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for a "unilateral ceasefire" in a telephone call with Putin on Thursday, although the statement by the Turkish President's Office did not make it clear that he was addressing the Russian side.
(bb/dpa)