Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his armed forces to observe a 36-hour ceasefire this weekend due to the Orthodox Christmas holiday.
Members of the Orthodox Church, sometimes called the Easter Orthodox Church, which is prevalent in both Russia and Ukraine will observe Christmas on January 7 this weekend. It will be the first sweeping truce since the start of the nearly 11-month-old war.
It appears Mr Putin has not made the ceasefire order conditional on Ukraine's agreement and it was not clear whether hostilities will actually come to a temporary stop across the 1,100km front line. Ukrainian officials previously dismissed Russian signs of peace as a way to regroup forces and prepare for additional attacks.
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Mr Putin has previously made limited and local truces to allow evacuations of civilians or other humanitarian purposes. However, Thursday's order is the first time Mr Putin has directly ordered his troops to observe a ceasefire throughout the whole of Ukraine.
Mr Putin's order, which was addressed to defence minister Sergei Shoigu, and published on the Kremlin's website, said: "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 ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ."
The move comes after the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, proposed a truce from noon on Friday through to midnight on Saturday local time. Despite this, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Pdolyak dismissed Patriarch Kirill's call as "a cynical trap and an element of propaganda".
Furthermore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a Russian troop withdrawal before December 25, however, this was rejected by Russia. Patriarch Kirill previously justified Russia's war as part of the nation's "metaphysical struggle" to prevent a liberal ideological encroachment from the West.
Mr Putin spoke by phone with Turkey’s president on Thursday and the Kremlin said he “reaffirmed Russia’s openness to a serious dialogue” with Ukrainian authorities. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Mr Putin to implement a “unilateral ceasefire”, according to a statement from the Turkish president’s office.
Mr Erdogan also told Mr Zelensky later by telephone that Turkey was ready to mediate a “lasting peace”.
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