Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a cease-fire in Ukraine on Jan. 6-7, the Kremlin said Thursday.
The Kremlin noted that Moscow urges the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and allow people to attend services on Orthodox Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas day.
The cease-fire announcement came shortly after Putin spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who also spoke with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Given the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation (Sergey Shoygu) to introduce a cease-fire regime along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 (0900GMT) January 6, 2023 to 24:00 (2100GMT) January 7, 2023," the statement said.
"Based on the fact that a large number of people 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," it added.
Earlier on Thursday, Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, called for a truce in Ukraine for the occasion of the Christmas Day, which is celebrated by most Orthodox Christians on Jan. 7, this year falling on Saturday.
