War in Ukraine: Russia claims to respect truce, but accuses Kyiv of continuing shelling

He will never be respected. The unilateral ceasefire imposed by Russia in Ukraine on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas is expected to begin on Friday at noon (Moscow time). But the fighting continued in a number of areas, in particular on both sides of the front in Bakhmut and in Kramatorsk. Russia claims to be respecting the truce but blames Kyiv for the ongoing bombing.

Shots were heard from the Ukrainian side, as well as from the Russian side, after the start of the ceasefire in Bakhmut, a city with largely destroyed and deserted streets, but their intensity was lower compared to previous days, AFP reported. Other fights are reported by the Russian news agency TASS or local media. However, this information should be taken with caution.

At the call of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as at the suggestion of Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday asked his army to observe a “ceasefire along the entire line of contact from noon (09:00) :00 GMT) on January 6 this year until midnight (21:00 GMT) January 7th.

A truce in which Ukraine never believed. Kyiv dismissed this initiative, saying that it was a “propaganda act.” According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, this is “an apology to at least stop the advance of our troops into the Donbass and bring equipment, ammunition, and bring people closer to our positions.”

“Russia must withdraw from the occupied territories, only then there will be a temporary truce. Keep your hypocrisy, ”they also reacted on twitter Advisor to the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak.

Vladimir Putin called on Ukrainian forces to observe this two-day truce to enable the Orthodox, who constitute the majority of confessions in Ukraine, as well as in Russia, “to be present at services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ.” Christ”.

“Save Your Hypocrisy”

In a message that was broadcast a few minutes after the announcement of the ceasefire, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Kyrylo Timoshenko announced the shelling of Kherson by Russian troops, as a result of which there were casualties. However, he did not specify when the strike took place.

Separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine, cited by Russian news outlets, meanwhile reported shelling of their Donetsk stronghold by the Ukrainian army 15 minutes before a theoretical ceasefire went into effect.

For the American president, Vladimir Putin sought to “let the air out.” He “was ready to bomb hospitals, kindergartens and churches (…) on December 25 and New Year’s Eve,” joked Joe Biden. Such a truce will not bring Ukraine “neither freedom nor security,” summed up German diplomacy.

Russia is ready for a “serious dialogue”

In a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed a “unilateral ceasefire” designed to support “peace calls and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.” Russia is ready for “serious dialogue” with Ukraine, provided the latter complies with Russia’s demands and accepts the “new territorial realities” generated by the invasion of that country in February, Vladimir Putin said.

But Volodymyr Zelenskiy is pushing for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from his country, including Crimea, before any dialogue with Moscow. Otherwise, he promises to return the occupied territories by force.

Russia is offering a truce less than a week after a Ukrainian strike in Makovka, eastern Ukraine, killed at least 89 people on New Year’s Eve. A particularly deadly shelling, which the Russian army had to admit, is an extremely rare fact that caused criticism of the military command in Russia.