Russia’s nightly bombardment of areas in eastern Ukraine has left at least one dead, local officials said on Sunday, after Moscow ended a self-declared Christmas ceasefire and broke down. committed to continue fighting until he achieves a victory over his neighbour.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a 36-hour ceasefire along the line of contact to observe Russia and Ukraine’s Orthodox Christmas, which fell on Saturday. Ukraine had rejected the truce and there was shelling along the front line.
A 50-year-old man died in the northeastern region of Kharkiv as a result of Russian shelling, Oleh Sinehubov, the region’s governor, said on the Telegram messaging app. The news fell a few minutes after midnight in Moscow.
Most Ukrainian Orthodox Christians have traditionally celebrated Christmas on January 7, as have Orthodox Christians in Russia. But this year, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the largest in the country, has also authorized a celebration on December 25. Still, many observed the feast on Saturday, flocking to churches and cathedrals.
The Kremlin has said Moscow will pursue what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine and what Kyiv and its Western allies call unprovoked aggression to seize land.
“The tasks set by the President (Putin) for the special military operation will always be fulfilled,” Russian state agency TASS said, quoting Putin’s first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.
“And there will definitely be a win.”
There is no end in sight to the war, now in its 11th month, which has killed thousands, displaced millions and reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble.
Ukrainian officials have also reported explosions in areas that make up the wider Donbass region – the frontline of the war where fighting has raged for months.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said there were nine missile strikes on the region overnight, including seven on the battered city of Kramatorsk. According to initial information, there were no casualties.
Explosions were also heard in the town of Zaporizhzhia, the administrative center of Zaporizhzhia region, a local official said, without giving an immediate report of damage or casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia was planning another major offensive. The Pentagon said Friday that Putin’s goal of seizing Ukrainian territory has not changed, even as his military continues to take blows.
There are growing fears that Belarus – a staunch supporter of Moscow – could be used as a staging post to attack Ukraine from the north after increased military activity in the country and the new transfer of Russian troops there. low.
Unofficial Telegram channels monitoring military activity in Belarus reported on Saturday evening that some 1,400 to 1,600 Russian troops had arrived in the northeastern Belarusian city of Vitebsk from Russia over the past two days. .
Reuters was unable to independently verify the information.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a 36-hour ceasefire along the line of contact to observe Russia and Ukraine’s Orthodox Christmas, which fell on Saturday. Ukraine had rejected the truce and there was shelling along the front line.
A 50-year-old man died in the northeastern region of Kharkiv as a result of Russian shelling, Oleh Sinehubov, the region’s governor, said on the Telegram messaging app. The news fell a few minutes after midnight in Moscow.
Most Ukrainian Orthodox Christians have traditionally celebrated Christmas on January 7, as have Orthodox Christians in Russia. But this year, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the largest in the country, has also authorized a celebration on December 25. Still, many observed the feast on Saturday, flocking to churches and cathedrals.
The Kremlin has said Moscow will pursue what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine and what Kyiv and its Western allies call unprovoked aggression to seize land.
“The tasks set by the President (Putin) for the special military operation will always be fulfilled,” Russian state agency TASS said, quoting Putin’s first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.
“And there will definitely be a win.”
There is no end in sight to the war, now in its 11th month, which has killed thousands, displaced millions and reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble.
Ukrainian officials have also reported explosions in areas that make up the wider Donbass region – the frontline of the war where fighting has raged for months.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said there were nine missile strikes on the region overnight, including seven on the battered city of Kramatorsk. According to initial information, there were no casualties.
Explosions were also heard in the town of Zaporizhzhia, the administrative center of Zaporizhzhia region, a local official said, without giving an immediate report of damage or casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia was planning another major offensive. The Pentagon said Friday that Putin’s goal of seizing Ukrainian territory has not changed, even as his military continues to take blows.
There are growing fears that Belarus – a staunch supporter of Moscow – could be used as a staging post to attack Ukraine from the north after increased military activity in the country and the new transfer of Russian troops there. low.
Unofficial Telegram channels monitoring military activity in Belarus reported on Saturday evening that some 1,400 to 1,600 Russian troops had arrived in the northeastern Belarusian city of Vitebsk from Russia over the past two days. .
Reuters was unable to independently verify the information.
