Putin's call for Orthodox Christmas truce in Ukraine greeted with scepticism

FILE PHOTO: U.S. servicemen walk past a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle as they arrive for the joint U.S.-Georgian exercise Noble Partner 2016 in Vaziani, Georgia, May 5, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

KYIV/BAKHMUT, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Thursday for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Orthodox Christmas, a move rejected by Kyiv which said there could be no truce until Russia withdraws its troops from occupied land.

The United States and Germany made a joint announcement to supply Ukraine with armoured combat vehicles, a boost for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who has urged Western allies to provide his forces with armour and heavy weapons for months.