LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine after the head of the Orthodox Church called for a Christmas truce, the Kremlin said Thursday.
Putin instructed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to introduce a ceasefire from noon on Friday, Jan. 6, until midnight on Saturday, Jan. 7., a statement from the Kremlin read.
The request comes after the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, requested that both Ukraine and Russia observe a truce over the Christmas holiday. Those who belong to the Orthodox Church celebrate Christmas in January.
An official in the Ukrainian presidential office had called the proposal “propaganda.”
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