1: russian president vladimir putin has ordered his defence minister to impose a 36-hour ceasefire on the ukrainian frontline. the ceasefire is scheduled to start at 12:00 moscow time (09:00 gmt) and coincide with the russian orthodox christmas. it follows an appeal from patriarch kirill, the head of the russian orthodox church, and an earlier request from turkish president recep tayyip erdogan for mr putin to declare a “unilateral” ceasefire.
2: the ceasefire will begin on friday and allow orthodox believers to celebrate christmas eve on friday and christmas day on saturday. the russian orthodox church celebrates christmas day on 7 january according to the julian calendar. the ceasefire will be in place for the russian orthodox christmas and take place on the ukrainian frontline.
3: the ceasefire was ordered by mr putin in response to the appeal from patriarch kirill and the request from president erdogan. the aim of the ceasefire is to allow orthodox believers to celebrate christmas eve and christmas day in peace. it is also a chance for both sides to negotiate during the ceasefire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-64178912?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
