From the outset, Kyiv rejected the ceasefire decreed by Russian President Putin as hypocrisy. During the 36-hour period, Moscow admits it will continue to retaliate against Ukrainian attacks. Shortly before the time is up, the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy draws a sober balance sheet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared the ceasefire declared by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin over the Orthodox Christmas celebrations to have failed. "The world was able to see once again how false statements from Moscow are at every level," said the 44-year-old in his video message in the evening - shortly before Putin's promised ceasefire period officially ended at 10:00 p.m. CET.
"They said something about an alleged ceasefire, but the reality is that Russian shells hit Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions again," Zelenskyy said. "Once again it has been confirmed: Only the expulsion of the Russian occupiers from Ukrainian lands and the elimination of all possibilities for Russia to put pressure on Ukraine and all of Europe will mean the restoration of a ceasefire, security and peace."
On Thursday, Putin unilaterally ordered a 36-hour ceasefire, citing Christmas, which many Orthodox Christians celebrate on January 7, as the reason. Kyiv rejected the Russian advance as hypocritical from the start, and many international observers also spoke of a pure propaganda gesture. Even while the ceasefire was officially in place, Moscow admitted that it would continue to retaliate against Ukrainian attacks.
According to Ukrainian sources, two civilians also died as a result of Russian shelling in the city of Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk. Once again, Zelenskyj wished the Ukrainians a Merry Christmas in his speech. He was pleased that so many people had attended the service in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra that morning, he explained. In the church, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the new Orthodox Church in Ukraine celebrated a Christmas mass - and for the first time in decades it was in Ukrainian instead of Russian.
