Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his forces to enforce a ceasefire in Ukraine on January 6 and 7, on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas, following a call to this effect by Russian Patriarch Kirill, the Kremlin said, quoted by AFP and Agerpres.

„Taking into account the call of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I order the Russian Minister of Defense to introduce a cease-fire regime along the entire contact line between the parties in Ukraine, starting from 12:00, January 6 of this year, until the 24: 00, on January 7”, the Kremlin statement states.

The Russian president invited the Ukrainian forces to respect this truce in order to enable the Orthodox, the majority denomination in Ukraine as well as in Russia, „to attend the services on Christmas Eve, as well as those on the day of the Nativity of Jesus”.

This ceasefire, the first of its kind since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24, comes after a call to this effect by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill, a close supporter of Vladimir Putin.

This appeal by Patriarch Kirill was rejected by the advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, Mihailo Podoliak, who denounced on Twitter on Thursday, before Putin’s announcement, a possible „cynical trap” and „propaganda element”.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had also asked Vladimir Putin on Thursday, during a telephone conversation, to institute a „unilateral ceasefire” in Ukraine.

Agerpres