war in Ukraine
Ceasefire rejected: Ex-President Medvedev insults Kyiv
Dmitry Medvedev, ex-president and Putin confidante, is known for his drastic words. photo
© Yekaterina Shtukina/Sputnik/AP/dpa
Kremlin chief Putin has ordered a ceasefire for the Orthodox Christmas. Kyiv calls it a “hypocrisy”. Russia’s ex-president Medvedev is not only harsh on Ukrainian politicians.
After Kiev’s rejection of the ceasefire ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for the Orthodox Christmas, Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev insulted the Ukrainian politicians.
“Pigs have no faith or an innate feeling of gratitude. They only understand brute force and squeakingly demand food from their masters,” wrote the Deputy Chief of the Russian Security Council on his Telegram channel. The 57-year-old also referred to Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in this context.
“The Uneducated Woman Baerbock”
According to Medvedev, the Russian leadership has stretched out the “hand of Christian charity” to the Ukrainians. This was rejected, also because the West did not allow the Christmas peace. “Even the uneducated woman Baerbock and a number of other overseers in the European pigsty managed to grumble about the inadmissibility of a ceasefire,” wrote Medvedev.
The unilateral ceasefire announced by Putin officially came into force today, Moscow time (10:00 a.m. CET). The Kremlin justified the ceasefire by wanting to give believers the opportunity to take part in church services. Kyiv has dismissed calls for a ceasefire as “hypocrisy”. Baerbock criticized the ceasefire as insufficient and called for a Russian withdrawal to achieve peace.
Moscow accuses Kyiv of attacking despite the announced ceasefire
The Russian military accuses the Ukrainian side of further attacks. “Although the Russian army group is sticking to the ceasefire that came into effect at 12 noon today, January 6, the Kiev regime has continued to fire artillery at towns and positions of the Russian forces,” said army spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow.
According to Konashenkov, there were battles on three front sectors. In the north near the small town of Lyman, the Ukrainian military fired with grenade launchers, a little further south near the village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region with artillery. Artillery shelling was also fired at Russian positions in the south of the Donetsk region. “During the return fire, the positions of the Ukrainian forces from which the shots were fired were pinned down,” Konashenkov said. However, he did not mention an alleged Ukrainian shelling of the industrial city of Donetsk, about which the Russian governors in the region had previously reported.
Putin’s order only applies to offensive actions by the Russian side
Politicians appointed by Moscow have made it clear in the occupied areas of Ukraine that they are ready to shoot if in doubt. Putin’s order only applies to offensive actions by the Russian side. “This does not mean that we will not respond to enemy provocations! Or even give the enemy any chance to improve their positions on the front line during these holiday hours,” Moscow-appointed governor in Donetsk Denis Puschilin wrote in his Telegram channel.
Shortly after the ceasefire came into effect, representatives of the Russian occupying power in eastern Ukraine told the state news agency TASS on Friday: “Exactly at 12 noon, when the ceasefire came into force, the Ukrainian armed forces shelled Donetsk with artillery weapons.” How the Russian side reacted to the alleged shelling is still unclear.