The ceasefire announced by Russia to mark Orthodox Christmas has proved largely ineffective. In the contested Ukrainian regions, there was no significant calming of the fighting.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that “more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers were killed” in attacks on two barracks in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. It is “retaliation” for the death of 89 Russian soldiers on New Year’s Eve.
Despite the unilateral ceasefire announced by Russia, two people have been killed in the past 24 hours, said the deputy chief of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
One person died in the eastern Donetsk region, another in the northeastern Kharkiv region. A total of nine people were injured in the two regions and in the southern region of Cherson.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russia “had nine rocket and three air strikes and fired 40 multiple rocket launcher attacks” on Saturday despite the so-called ceasefire. Above all, the civilian infrastructure was hit.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow said the attack on the Kramatorsk barracks was a “response to the criminal attack by the regime in Kyiv in the first minutes of January 2023”. After the Ukrainian rocket attack on a makeshift barracks in the eastern Ukrainian city of Makiivka, Moscow had admitted the death of 89 soldiers. In Russia, the case caused criticism of its own leadership.
Journalists report four explosions
“After midnight the enemy launched seven rocket attacks on Kramatorsk and two on Kostyantynivka,” Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said. AFP journalists in Kramatorsk heard at least four explosions before midnight.
The unilateral ceasefire ended at 10:00 p.m. (CET) on Saturday evening. Kyiv accused Russia of violating the ceasefire.
The world has witnessed how “mendacious” the statements by the Russian leadership are, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video message on Saturday evening. “They talked about an alleged ceasefire (…), but in reality Russian shells continued to hit Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions.”
Moscow, on the other hand, said Russian forces were forced to respond to sustained Ukrainian artillery shelling and attacks on their positions.
Many Ukrainians can only celebrate Christmas in the bunker
Both the Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and Russia celebrate Christmas on January 7th. Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire for the Christmas holiday, starting Friday.
From the outset, Kyiv had doubted that Russia was serious about the ceasefire. Selenskyj described them as an excuse to gain time.
In the east, the situation is “difficult” and Russian troops are advancing “in some regions,” said Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar. “Very difficult” is the situation in the town of Soledar near Bakhmut, where AFP journalists had already recorded heavy artillery fire after the unilateral Russian ceasefire came into force on Friday.
The eastern Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar was subjected to heavy artillery fire throughout Saturday morning, local AFP journalists reported. The few remaining residents therefore preferred to celebrate Christmas mass in a protective cellar instead of in the church.
Contrary to his usual customs, Putin attended the Christmas service on Saturday night alone in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kremlin, as can be seen on recordings distributed by Moscow. In recent years he had attended Orthodox Christmas services in Russian provinces or on the outskirts of Moscow.
Great Britain meanwhile announced an international meeting of justice ministers on the Ukraine war. The British government said the conference planned for March in London is intended to support the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which investigates war crimes in Ukraine. (AFP)
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