Temporary cease fire due to Orthodox Christmas ordered by Vladimir Putin

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has instructed the country’s Defense Minister to order a cease-fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas.
The ceasefire will begin at noon on Jan. 6 and will last for 36 hours. Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 6 and 7.
In response to an earlier call by Russian Patriarch Kirill for guns to go silent over the Orthodox holiday, Putin made the announcement according to the Kremlin’s press service.
“We call on the Ukrainian side to observe a ceasefire and allow citizens of the Orthodox faith to visit Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services,” said a statement posted to the Kremlin website.
Patriarch Kirill has been an avid supporter of the Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine, including telling Russian soldiers that dying for the cause would “wash away all sins.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked the Russian leader to implement a unilateral cease-fire to support efforts to end the war in a call earlier on Thursday.
Putin repeated Russian demands that, in response, Ukraine accept Moscow’s recent annexation of four regions of Ukraine before serious peace negotiations could begin.
Russian forces have failed to maintain control over the territories, and the annexation moves have been widely condemned as illegal.