Vladimir Putin instructed to introduce a ceasefire along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 Moscow time on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7. Earlier, Patriarch Kirill asked him to “establish a truce” during the holiday.
“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 Christmas Day,” Putin’s decree, published on the Kremlin website .
Earlier, in fact, Patriarch Kirill said the same thing to “all parties involved in the internecine conflict.” He called for a ceasefire and "to establish a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7, so that Orthodox people can attend services on Christmas Eve and on the day of the Nativity of Christ."
At the same time, in Kyiv, Kirill's call was called a trap. “The Russian Orthodox Church is not an authority for global Orthodoxy and acts only as a war propagandist,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine. — The Russian Orthodox Church called for the genocide of Ukrainians, encouraged massacres and insists on even greater militarization of Russia. Therefore, the statement of the ROC about the “Christmas truce” is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda.”