Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday that its troops would not respond to the Ukrainian attacks until the 36-hour unilateral ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin came into effect.
“Although Russian troops have been observing the ceasefire since noon [locais, 09:00 em Lisboa]”The Kiev regime continued to attack the Russian population and troop positions with artillery,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, quoted by the official TASS agency.
Konashenkov specified that Ukrainian forces launched eight artillery fire attacks from a location near the town of Novopavlivka in the Zaporijia region of southern Ukraine and another three in the Lugansk region.
“With return fire, Russian forces crushed the positions of the Ukrainian forces from which the attacks were launched,” Konashenkov said.
According to the Kremlin, Putin’s decision to declare a unilateral ceasefire was taken in response to the call by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Cyril, to celebrate Orthodox Christmas on Saturday. to be able to celebrate.
On Thursday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “using Christmas as a cover” to halt the advance of the Ukrainian army and regroup its troops.
The Russian military had already claimed today to respect Moscow’s two-day unilateral ceasefire, but accused Kiev of continuing the bombing.
“Despite ceasefire compliance by Russian troops […] Kiev authorities continue to bomb Russian cities and positions,” Russia’s defense ministry said in its usual daily report.
However, in Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, the artillery clashes have not stopped despite the entry into force of a unilateral ceasefire declared by Russia on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas.
Journalists from the AFP news agency heard gunshots, but with less intensity than in the previous days, from the Ukrainian and Russian sides after the start of the ceasefire in this city, where the streets are largely destroyed and deserted.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of “using Christmas as a disguise” to prevent the advance of Ukrainian troops into Donbass, taking the opportunity to move equipment and ammunition closer to their positions.
“They want to use Christmas as a cover to stop, at least for a short time, the advance of our men in Donbass and bring equipment, ammunition and soldiers closer to our positions,” he said.
The Russian military offensive was launched on February 24 last year to, according to Putin, “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security.
The invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN presented 6,919 dead civilians and 11,075 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, emphasizing that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
