War in Ukraine. Russian strikes in Kramatorsk despite Putin’s declared ceasefire

The Russian army struck the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine twice this Friday, January 6, after Moscow announced the start of a unilateral ceasefire, the deputy chief of staff of the Ukrainian president said. “The invaders hit the city twice with rockets. A private residential building was hit. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties or injuries“Kyrilo Tymoshenko wrote in Telegram.

The Kremlin, for its part, assured to respect its ceasefire. “Despite the maintenance of the ceasefire regime by the Russian troops, the Kiev regime continued to bomb Russian cities and positions.said the Russian Ministry of Defense in its daily report. In response to the strikes, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Vladimir Putin’s truce announced on Orthodox Christmas was a step.cynical“.

Artillery fire in Bakhmut

Artillery fire also continued on both sides of the front in the nearly destroyed city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine. However, the intensity of the shootings was less than the previous days.

Following a call from Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, as well as a proposal from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday asked his army to maintain “the ceasefire along the contact line of the parties, from 12:00 on January 6 to midnight on January 7 this year;“.

He called on the Ukrainian forces to respect this truce in order to give the Orthodox, the majority faith in Ukraine, as well as in Russia, an opportunity.attend Christmas Eve as well as the Nativity of Christ“.

His Ukrainian colleague Vladimir Zelensky criticized this statement, which, according to him, was just “an excuse to at least stop the advance of our troops in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and people closer to our positions;“. “What will be the result? More deaths“, he said.