Russia calls for a 36-hour TRUCE in Ukraine
Russia calls for a 36-hour TRUCE in Ukraine from noon tomorrow to mark Orthodox Christmas
- Proposed ceasefire would run from 12pm, January 6 to midnight on January 7
- Many Orthodox Christians celebrate Jan 6 to 7, instead of in December
- It was reported today Putin was open to peace dialogue with Kyiv, but only if Ukraine accepted ‘new territorial realities’
Vladimir Putin has ordered a temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine to allow people to mark Orthodox Christmas, Russian media has reported.
The Russian leader called on Kyiv to observe the proposed truce, which would run for 36-hours: From 12pm, January 6 to midnight on January 7.
He ordered his defence minister Sergei Shoigu to introduce the ceasefire along the entire line of contact, the Kremlin reported.
The call for a ceasefire followed an earlier proposal by Russia’s spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill for an Orthodox Christmas truce this week.
The step was dismissed by Kyiv as a cynical trap by Moscow.
Many Orthodox Christians, including those living in Russia and Ukraine, celebrate Christmas on Jan 6 to 7, rather than at the end of December.
Vladimir Putin (pictured today) has ordered a temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine to allow people to mark Orthodox Christmas, Russian media has reported
The Russian leader called on Kyiv to observe the proposed truce, which would run for 36-hours: From 12pm, January 6 to midnight on January 7, to allow people to observe Orthodox Christmas. Pictured: A Christmas tree is seen in Kyiv on January 2
‘Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12.00 on January 6, 2023 to 24.00 on January 7, 2023,’ Putin said in the order.
‘Proceeding from the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day.’
Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that Russian president Putin had told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was open to peace dialogue with Ukraine, but only if Kyiv accepts ‘new territorial realities’.
Russian troops occupy large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. The Kremlin claims it has annexed the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions despite not controlling them in their entirety.
Erdogan, meanwhile, pressed Putin to declare a ‘unilateral’ ceasefire in Ukraine.
Erdogan spoke to both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his latest attempts as a mediator to broker an end to the 10-month war, that began when the Russian despot ordered the invasion on February 24, 2022.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
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