Kyiv receives more weapons from Western partners and regards the "Kremlin" truce as a sham

Ukraine talks about Russian strikes despite Putin's declaration of a cease-fire

A Ukrainian walks past a house burned as a result of Russian bombing in Kherson on the eve of Orthodox Christmas.

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Sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, about 40 minutes after the unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, entered into force yesterday, while the Russian army confirmed its respect for the two-day armistice declared by Moscow in Ukraine on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. , accusing Kyiv of continuing the bombing, the Ukrainian presidency confirmed that Kyiv received more arms supplies from Western partners.

In detail, the alerts app widely used in Ukraine, which includes information from emergency services, showed sirens sounding across the country.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the day before yesterday that Russian forces would stop fighting along the 1,100-kilometer front line or in any other unexpected place.

This followed an appeal from the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, as well as a proposal by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for a ceasefire over the Orthodox Christmas weekend, as the Orthodox Church, which uses the Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas on January 7.

The announcement of the truce by Russia came less than a week after a strike carried out by the Ukrainian army on New Year's Eve, killing at least 89 Russian soldiers in Makivka, in eastern Ukraine.

But Ukrainian and Western officials suspected an ulterior motive for Putin's apparent gesture of goodwill.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky questioned the Kremlin's intentions, accusing the Kremlin of planning to stop the fighting "to continue the war with renewed vigor", describing the Russian armistice as a hoax.

"Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to stop the advance of our men in the eastern Donbass region for a while and bring in equipment, ammunition and people crowded near our positions," Zelensky said late Thursday.

For his part, US President Joe Biden said it was “interesting” that Putin was ready to bomb hospitals, nurseries and churches on Christmas and New Year’s.

"I think Putin is trying to find some oxygen," Biden said.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington "has little confidence in the intentions behind this announcement," adding that Kremlin officials "have not given us any reason to take anything they are offering at face value."

He added that the truce order appeared to be a ruse to "rest, reorganize, regroup, and eventually re-attack."

The Institute for the Study of War agreed that the truce could be a ploy to allow Russia to regroup.

"Such a pause would disproportionately benefit Russian forces and begin to deprive Ukraine of the initiative," the think tank said late Thursday.

Putin cannot reasonably expect Ukraine to abide by the terms of the suddenly announced cease-fire, and may have called for the cease-fire to portray Ukraine as unaware and unwilling to take the necessary steps toward negotiations.

Meanwhile, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Kirillo Tymoshenko, announced that the Russian army bombed the city of Kramatorsk twice in eastern Ukraine, after the entry into force of a ceasefire announced by Moscow.

Artillery shelling also continued yesterday on both sides of the front in Bakhmut, the epicenter of battles in eastern Ukraine, despite the truce, according to AFP correspondents.

For their part, representatives of the Russian forces in eastern Ukraine told the Russian state news agency Tass, shortly after the truce took effect: "Ukrainian forces bombarded Donisk with artillery yesterday at noon, exactly when the ceasefire took effect."

The Russian army confirmed its respect for the cease-fire, accusing Kyiv of continuing the bombing.

For his part, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently the head of the Russian Security Council, criticized Ukrainian politicians for refusing to cease fire.

On the other hand, Zelensky welcomed an American and German pledge to deliver armored vehicles to Kyiv for the "Bradley" infantry weapons from the American side and "Marder" from the German side, considering it a "very important decision."

Berlin also pledged to hand over a battery of Patriot air defense missiles to Kyiv, as Washington had previously done.

Yesterday, German government spokesman Stephen Hepstreit said in Berlin that it was about the supply of about 40 units of weapon systems that could equip a battalion.

The spokesman pointed out that the training planned to be provided to Ukrainian soldiers in Germany will take about eight weeks, according to expert estimates.

Yesterday, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed that arms supplies from Ukraine's western partners will increase in the future.

Yermak said on his channel on "Telegram" that "Ukraine is already receiving and will receive great help from the United States, Germany, France and Britain, and that this support helps to restore all our lands, and that the 1991 borders are our goal."

• Biden: "Putin is trying to find some oxygen by declaring a truce."

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