After the end of the ceasefire, Russia bombed eastern Ukraine, claiming at least one person dead
Russia’s nighttime bombardments of eastern Ukrainian provinces have killed at least one person, local authorities said on Sunday, after the 36-hour ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir ended last midnight Putin for celebrating the Orthodox Christmas, although the measure was not complied with either and hostilities continued at various points in the European country. The fatality is a 50-year-old man who died in the northeastern province of Kharkov as a result of Russian attacks, the region’s governor Oleh Sinehubov said on the Telegram messaging application.
The news came minutes after midnight in Moscow. Most Ukrainian Orthodox Christians traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 7, as do Orthodox Christians in Russia. But this year the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the largest in the country, also allowed a celebration on December 25. Nevertheless, many celebrated the holiday on Saturday and flocked to churches and cathedrals.
After the end of the supposed ceasefire, the Kremlin asserted that Moscow would continue the “military special operation” in Ukraine – as it calls the war that began on February 24 when its troops invaded the neighboring country: “Definitely will there will be a victory,” said Putin’s first deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko.
Ukrainian authorities have also reported explosions in parts of the historical Donbas region, which consists of Donetsk and Lugansk provinces and is largely occupied by Kremlin troops. Pavlo Kirilenko, the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk province, said there had been nine rocket attacks in the region overnight, including seven in the stricken city of Kramatorsk. According to preliminary information, there were no victims.
Explosions could also be heard in the town of Zaporizhia, said a local official, who did not immediately provide a damage or casualty estimate.
In recent weeks, concerns have grown in the West about the situation in Belarus, a staunch supporter of Moscow. According to intelligence services, this country can be used as a platform to attack Ukraine from the north – as happened last February at the beginning of the invasion – after the increase in military activity and the renewed movement of Russian troops there. Unofficial Telegram channels, which monitor military activities in Belarus, reported late Saturday that between 1,400 and 1,600 Russian soldiers from Russia had arrived in the northeastern Belarusian city of Vitebsk in the past two days. Portal was unable to independently verify the information. (Portal / EL PAÍS)