Prior to Orthodox Christmas, which is observed on January 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to establish a truce in Ukraine.
According to a statement released by the Kremlin on Thursday, Russian forces must maintain their fire from “12 a.m. on January 6, 2023 until 24 a.m. on January 7, 2023.”
It follows an appeal for a “Christmas ceasefire” posted earlier on Thursday on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church by Patriarch Kirill.
“Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense 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.
“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.”
The Russian Orthodox Church’s influence in Ukraine has allegedly decreased after Putin began an all-out invasion on February 24, 2022. Some Ukrainians are now reportedly choosing to celebrate Christmas on December 25, using the Gregorian calendar rather than the Julian calendar.
Kirill, 76, had made an appeal for a ceasefire “so that Orthodox Christians might attend services on Christmas Eve and on the day of the Nativity of Christ.” Kirill has defended Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February on philosophical and spiritual grounds.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, earlier stated that the Ukrainian government has not sent Russia a proposal for a cease-fire.
Since the start of the war, the patriarch has used speeches to defend the fighting by praising Russia as a “peace-loving power” that avoids “military expeditions.”
He said in June that Russia was the target of an international “attack” motivated by feelings of resentment, envy, and jealousy. The reason for this, according to Kirill, is that Russia is “different.”
Additionally, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church has made numerous pro-war pronouncements. In September, when thousands of Russians started to leave the country for its neighbours in an effort to avoid being drafted, Kirill advised them not to fear death after Putin ordered a partial mobilisation in Russia.
More than ten months into the conflict he launched, and only days after alleging that Ukraine is refusing to hold peace talks, Putin has ordered a cease-fire. He stated that he is “willing to negotiate some acceptable outcomes with all the parties in this process” in an interview with a Russian official television channel.
