Near Kremina, Ukraine, January 6 (Reuters) – Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged artillery fire on the Ukrainian front on January 6.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire starting at noon on Friday to celebrate Russian Orthodox Christmas. refused the alleged truce as a stunt by Moscow to buy time for the
“What truce? Can you hear me?” a Ukrainian soldier, nicknamed “Vyshnya”, said as explosions rang out in the distance on the front line near Kreminna in eastern Ukraine. “What do they want to achieve if they keep shooting? We’ve learned not to trust them.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said Russian forces began monitoring the ceasefire “along the entire line of contact” from noon Moscow time (0900 GMT), but Ukraine continued to shell Populated areas and military positions.
Reuters heard an explosion that Ukrainian forces on the front lines described as incoming Russian rockets. Ukrainians counterattacked from tanks.
The Ukrainian military said it was quieter than many other days because the snow had made it harder for drones to find targets.
“Today’s situation is exactly the same as yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week, last month,” said the man who hid his face with a scarf. there is not.”
It was not immediately possible to confirm whether the intensity of fighting elsewhere had diminished.
Eyewitnesses close to the front lines in the Russian-occupied capital of Donetsk also described artillery fire from pro-Russian positions on the outskirts of the city after the ceasefire was intended to go into effect.
Ukrainian governor-general of the front-line eastern province of Luhansk, Serhiy Haydai, said Russia had shelled Ukrainian positions 14 times and raided one settlement three times in the first three hours of the alleged ceasefire. .
“The orthodox killer wishes you a Merry Christmas,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
US Offer BRADLEYS
Washington announces latest $3.75 billion package For the first time, it sent the mainstay of the U.S. military, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, to Kyiv as part of its military aid to Ukraine and its war-affected allies. The package includes his $2.85 billion in weapons destined for Ukraine and hundreds of millions of dollars to help backfill the arsenals of allies who send their own weapons.
This is the one-week cap on which both Germany and France have committed armored vehicles, fulfilling one of Kyiv’s most urgent demands from its allies for armor to defeat Russian tanks in mechanized combat. It finally came true.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sued the Bradleys in Washington last month on his first overseas visit since the war began. Said On Friday they were “just what I needed”.
America package It also includes the Patriot missile, which the US delivered last month, while it also includes the Sea Sparrow air defense missile.
Shortly before the ceasefire began, rockets hit houses in Kramatorsk, near the Eastern Front, damaging 14 houses but causing no casualties as many fled.
“Bad, very bad,” Oleksnadr, 36, said outside a supermarket at the time of the attack. “We need to pressure them and make them leave. Perhaps more air defense systems would help. This happens frequently every other day, not just on festive occasions.”
One rescue worker was killed and four wounded when Russian forces shelled a fire station in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson before deadline early on Friday, the regional governor said. Reuters could not immediately confirm this.
Christmas as Cover
Zelensky uncontrollably rejected a Russian truce as a ruse to buy time for Russia after suffering devastating losses on the front lines.
In a video speech Thursday night, Mr Zelensky said, “They are now using Christmas as a cover to stop the advance of our boys and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized troops closer to our positions. there is,” he said.
Russia has suffered heavy losses in recent days, including a large number of its troops killed on New Year’s Eve in what Russia admits is the deadliest incident of war for its own forces.
Despite the ceasefire, pro-Russian officials had suggested that Ukraine would continue fighting if it did. Intended only for operations, he said his troops would fight back if fired upon.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, starting a war that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of Ukrainians. Weapons and financial support from the US and Europe have pushed Ukraine back from parts of its territory, but fighting has escalated in the east and south.
The Ukrainian Army General Staff said Ukrainian soldiers had repelled repeated Russian attacks over the past day.
“The enemy is concentrating its main efforts on attempts to establish control over the Donetsk region,” the Chief of General Staff said in a statement, adding that both Ukraine and Russia launched multiple airstrikes in the past day. .
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7th. Ukraine’s main Orthodox Church rejected Moscow’s authority, and many Ukrainian believers changed their calendars to celebrate Christmas on December 25, just like in the West.
Reuters bureau report Written by Peter Graf. Edited by Angus MacSwan, Nick Macfie, Grant McCool
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