War against Ukraine: Russia ends self-declared ceasefire

Russia has ended the declared 36-hour ceasefire. The Kremlin will continue its attacks until victory over Ukraine. Kyiv reported the shelling of several towns – there were also dead.

Russia has declared the ceasefire that had been in place for 36 hours during the Orthodox Christmas celebrations to be over. Moscow again announced that it would continue its so-called “military special operation” until victory over Ukraine.

Shortly after midnight Moscow time, the governor of the Kharkiv region of Ukraine reported bomb attacks in which at least one person had been killed via the short message service Telegram.

Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian troops had earlier used cruise missiles, fired 20 volleys of rockets and targeted residential areas in the north-east, east and south of the country. The eastern Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar was under heavy artillery fire throughout the morning, local AFP journalists reported. The few remaining residents therefore preferred to celebrate Christmas mass in a protective cellar instead of in the church.

Heavy battles for Bachmut

Governor Serhiy Haidai reported continuous shelling and attacks from the Luhansk region. In the first three hours of the ceasefire announced by Putin, Ukrainian positions were shelled 14 times and there were also three assaults. Haidai’s statements could not be independently verified.

Air alert in numerous cities

The authorities also reported several explosions around the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. “Attention to the residents of Kharkiv and the region: stay in shelters. The occupiers are striking again!” wrote Governor Oleh Synehubov on Telegram on Saturday evening. According to initial information, there is one fatality, Synehubov said.

Almost immediately after 10:00 p.m. CET, an air alert was issued in the Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions, as well as on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.

Zelenskyj: Ceasefire failed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared the ceasefire ordered by Putin a failure. “The world was able to see once again how false statements from Moscow are at every level,” he said in his video message on Saturday evening – shortly before the promised ceasefire period announced by Putin was to officially end.

“They said something about an alleged ceasefire, but the reality is that Russian shells again hit Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions,” Zelenskyy said.

Secret Service: Heavy fighting around Kreminna

According to British intelligence, the fighting is continuing at the usual level. One of the hardest fought areas is still around the city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region, according to the daily summary report from the British Ministry of Defence. “For the past three weeks, fighting around Kreminna has concentrated on the densely forested area west of the city.”

Since the forests offered some privacy from aerial observation, even in winter, both sides would likely have difficulty timing artillery fire accurately. As usual, infantrymen would be deployed in the forest areas – soldiers who primarily fight on foot and at close range.

Christmas Mass in the Cave Monastery

Overshadowed by the invasion of Russia, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine held a Christmas mass for the first time in the famous Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv. Its leader, Metropolitan Epiphanius, emphasized that “despite the war and the terrible trials for the Ukrainian people, we celebrate Christmas and believe in the victory of good over evil”. Ukraine will win. He condemned the Russian war of aggression against his country.

The Ukrainian government had withdrawn the main cathedral in the world-famous monastery from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) at the turn of the year. The government supports the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and in turn accuses UOC clergy of collaborating with Russia.