Putin orders 36-hour truce in Ukraine for Orthodox Christmas

Ukraine says Moscow’s response to request by hardline head of Russian Orthodox church is ‘hypocrisy’

Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, to introduce a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine for Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin said. A senior Ukrainian official called the move “hypocrisy”.

The Kremlin’s announcement of a ceasefire from noon on Friday until midnight on Saturday came hours after the head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, earlier on Thursday called for a ceasefire and a Christmas truce in Ukraine.