The ceasefire, decreed by Moscow from Friday noon, ended at midnight Saturday, Ukraine accusing the Russian army of not having respected it, and Russia in return accusing the Ukrainians of preventing the app by forcing it to fight back.
Lukrainians celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Saturday in the middle of the war, sometimes even in underground shelters, and the 36-hour truce announced without convincing by Vladimir Putin ended without the hostilities having really ceased.
“The world was able to see once again today how untruthful all the words spoken at the highest level in Moscow are,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message released in the evening. “They talked about an alleged ceasefire… but the reality is that the Russian shells continued to hit Bakhmout (east, editor’s note) and the other Ukrainian positions”, he added, hammering that the only solution was “the expulsion of the Russian occupiers from Ukrainian lands”.
The ceasefire, decreed by Moscow from Friday noon, ended at midnight Saturday (10 p.m. HB), Ukraine accusing the Russian army of not having respected it, and Russia in return accusing the Ukrainians for having prevented its application by forcing it to retaliate.
kyiv immediately rejected the Kremlin’s announcement, still described as “fake” on Saturday by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak, saying it was a ruse to gain time. Washington, Paris, London, Berlin and the EU have also denounced Moscow’s “hypocrisy”.
Journalists present in Chassiv Iar, in the east of Ukraine, have in fact observed sustained bombardments throughout the morning.
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Several areas bombed
In Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting further north, AFP had already heard artillery fire on both sides of the front on Friday, in the hours following the establishment of the unilateral ceasefire by Russia. . These shots were at most of less intensity compared to the previous days.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office, two people were killed and 13 injured in Bakhmut on Friday, in a city largely destroyed by fighting and where both sides face heavy losses.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian troops also shelled the Kherson region (south) on Friday, killing a rescue worker and injuring seven other people.
In the region of Zaporijjia (south-east), according to the local administration, a UN mission distributing humanitarian aid to Orikhiv was “under fire” from the enemy.
The two countries, at war since February 2022, celebrated the Orthodox Christmas holiday on Saturday, the majority faith in Russia and Ukraine. January 7 of the civil calendar (Gregorian) corresponds to December 25 of the old Julian calendar that the Orthodox Church continues to follow, out of step with the Catholics since the 16th century.
On the Russian side, Vladimir Putin attended a religious service alone in a Kremlin church at midnight on Friday, departing from his habit of attending the liturgy in public, in the provinces or on the outskirts of Moscow. In a message released Saturday by the Kremlin, he sent his congratulations to Orthodox Christians. Church organizations “support our soldiers” fighting in Ukraine, the Russian president said.
