Russia-Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin declares 36-hour ceasefire, here's why

In a 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the first major truce in a war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated swathes of the country for more than 10 months.

The Kremlin said on January 6 that Putin had ordered a truce to take effect. The Orthodox Christian Christmas holiday is observed on January 6-7 by several Eastern Christian communities, notably those in Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier on Thursday, Moscow's Patriarch Kirill urged all parties to the conflict in Ukraine to observe a Christmas ceasefire.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a 36-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas, Ukrainian President Zelensky rejected the offer, stating there would be no respite until Russian soldiers withdrew from seized area.

"Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defence 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.

Statements from the Kremlin invariably use Russian time, "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," Putin said.

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The Russian Orthodox Church has been portrayed as a "war propagandist" said by Mykhailo Podolyak, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who claims that the church has incited the "mass slaughter" of Ukrainians and the militarization of Russia.

"The statement of the Russian Orthodox Church about the 'Christmas Truce' is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda," he said.

(With inputs from Reuters)