International Desk/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to celebrate the Orthodox Christian Christmas.

This announcement was made by the Russian government on Thursday.

The Kremlin statement quoted President Putin as saying, “I have ordered the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation to keep the ceasefire effective from 12 noon on January 6 to midnight on January 7.”

The statement also said, “In the areas where the war is going on, there are many Orthodox Christians living in those areas.” We call on the relevant Ukrainian authorities for a ceasefire so that Orthodox Christians can go to church and observe their religious rituals.

Ukraine called Russia’s ceasefire announcement “hypocrisy”.

Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote in a tweet, “The territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia must be released first. A temporary ceasefire will follow. Keep this hypocrisy to yourself.’

Incidentally, last year on February 24, Russian forces started attacking Ukraine. Russia declared a full ceasefire for the first time since the start of the war.