Putin announces Christmas truce

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to impose a cessation in hostilities in Ukraine. Hours earlier, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, had called on both sides of the conflict to cease hostilities in the run-up to, and during, the Orthodox Christmas holiday.

According to the Kremlin, the truce is to last from noon local time on Friday January 6 until midnight on Saturday January 7.