Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Igor Girkin, also known by the alias Igor Strelkov ("Shooter") is one of the main pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. He was convicted a few months ago for shooting down flight MH17 in 2014.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Russia announced a Christmas truce in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a Christmas truce across the entire front in Ukraine from noon tomorrow until midnight on January 7.

Russia on Monday said more than 60 soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian strike on Russian-controlled territory in a New Year assault, the biggest loss of life reported by Moscow so far.

Kiev took responsibility for the strike, which it said took place in the occupied city of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine on New Year's Eve.

A Ukrainian strike on a complex in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Makiivka killed 63 Russian troops, the Russian defence ministry announced on Monday.

Critics who largely support Russia's invasion of Ukraine see Putin's government as the main culprit for the military's poor preparation ahead of the war, the high number of dead Russian soldiers and slow progress on the ground.

Greek Foreign Minister: We express our regret

Turkey extended condolences to Germany on July 15 for the dozens people who have been killed in flooding in the west.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it learned with sadness of the lives lost along with at dozens others who are missing.

The BBC has been lively commenting on the Bulgarian trace in the explosion of ammunition depots in the Czech Republic in 2014. The media reported that one of the people who stored in Vrbetica ammunitions that were meant for Ukraine was the Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, who six months after the explosion became the target of an assassination with an unknown nerve agent in Sofia.

The latest attack on Novaya Gazeta is making some of its editors wonder how long it can survive in the country.

CNN has broadcast a report on the latest spy affair in Bulgaria, which resulted in two Russian diplomats being expelled from the country, BGNES reported.

Until 1989, Bulgaria was one of the most loyal members of the USSR-led Warsaw Pact. According to Western analysts, now as a member of NATO and the European Union, the country is a favorite target for Russian espionage.