Putin orders 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine for observance of Orthodox Christmas

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to observe Orthodox Christmas over the weekend.

“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens 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,” Putin’s order, published on the Kremlin’s website, reads.

Putin called for the ceasefire “along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine” and requested it last from noon on Friday through Saturday.

The order comes after the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, called for a ceasefire during the holiday weekend. In the Kremlin statement, Putin said he was taking into account Kirill’s request.

There was no immediate word from the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, criticized the ceasefire request from Kirill early on Thursday, saying the Russian Orthodox Church acts as a “propagandist of war.”

“The Russian Orthodox Church has called for the genocide of Ukrainians, encouraged mass murders, and insists on even greater militarization of the Russian Federation,” Podolyak tweeted. “Therefore, the statement of the Russian Orthodox Church about the ‘Christmas truce’ is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda.”

Putin also discussed a settlement in the war on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a readout from the Kremlin.

The Turkish leader expressed a desire to mediate a political settlement of the conflict and Putin “reaffirmed Russia’s openness to a serious dialogue,” adding that Ukraine must “take into account new territorial realities.”

Ukraine called for a 10-point peace proposal last month, including the complete withdrawal of troops from his country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the time that “Kyiv is not ready for dialogue” in response to the proposal.

“We will not talk to anyone under such conditions,” Lavrov said in an interview with state media last month.

Putin’s new call for a ceasefire comes after a deadly New Year’s Eve strike on a Russian temporary base in the eastern region of Donetsk, which Moscow this week said killed 89 soldiers. It was the deadliest single attack on Russian forces in the war.

–Updated at 11:14 a.m.