Russian troops fighting in Ukraine will observe a 36-hour ceasefire between noon on January 6 and midnight on January 7, Russia's president said on Thursday.

In a statement quoted by Lusa, the Kremlin explained that it had responded to the appeal made today by Patriarch Kirill, who asked for a 'truce' for Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated on January 6 and 7 - the day before and the day after.

"Given Patriarch Kirill's appeal, I have asked the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation for a ceasefire along the entire line of combat." writes the agency, quoting Vladimir Putin, which notes that the temporary 'truce' will last 36 hours.

The official also explains that there is a "large number" of Orthodox in the hostile areas, and asks "the Ukrainian side to cease fire, thus giving them the opportunity to go to the celebrations on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Birth of Christ."

Patriarch Kirill had today appealed to the belligerents "in the fratricidal conflict to call on them to establish a ceasefire and seal a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 to 00:00 on January 7 so that the Orthodox population can go to Mass on Christmas Eve and on the day of the birth of Jesus Christ."

In response, the Ukrainian president's presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak called Kirill's appeal "a cynical trap and an element of propaganda".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called today, in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, for a "unilateral ceasefire" in Ukraine so that a "fair solution" could be negotiated.

"Calls for peace and negotiations between Moscow and Kiev must be backed up by a unilateral ceasefire," Turkey's head of state told Putin, according to a statement released by the Turkish presidency.

Erdogan also had a telephone conversation today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Via Telegram, Zelensky indicated that he had discussed with his Turkish counterpart "bilateral security cooperation and nuclear safety issues", and on this point in particular the situation at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijia, under Russian occupation.

"We also discussed the exchange of prisoners of war with Turkish mediation, the development of the cereals agreement and thanked Turkey for its willingness to participate in the implementation of our Peace Formula," said the President.

The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused more than 14 million people to flee - 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 7.9 million to European countries - according to the latest UN figures, which classify this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).

At the moment, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and housing.

The Russian invasion - justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin by the need to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia's security - has been condemned by the international community in general, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.

Since the beginning of the war, the UN has confirmed that 6,919 civilians have been killed and 11,075 wounded, stressing that these figures are far lower than the real ones.