Kiev rules out Russian Christmas truce
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the largest on European soil since World War II, will not cease over Christmas. The Ukrainian government has ruled out a Christmas break until Russia withdraws its troops from its territory. "There will be a complete ceasefire on our part only when not a single occupier remains on our territory," Alexei Gromov, deputy chief of the main operational command of the Ukrainian army's General Staff, told a press conference. Meanwhile Russia warns that if the US continues to support Zelensky, there will be "harsh consequences".
After Ukrainian troops carried out their biggest offensive on Kremlin-controlled Ukrainian soil on Thursday, Russian forces continued shelling and air strikes along the entire eastern frontline, killing one person. Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-backed mayor of the city of Donetsk, said 40 rockets were fired from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers at civilians in the city centre in the early hours. To which Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov, at a press conference, refuted that the Kremlin seeks to turn the conflict into a protracted armed confrontation.
Kulemzin appreciated the Donetsk attack as a war crime and exposed that it was the largest in the city since 2014, when pro-Moscow separatists seized control from Kiev. Preliminary estimates showed five people were wounded, including a child, it said. Ukraine's military staff said Moscow's focus remained on the eastern towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, and that Ukrainian forces had repelled Russian attacks in the past 24 hours. He stressed that the Russian attacks also affected civilian infrastructure in the southern areas of Zaporiyia and Kherson.
The president said this week that Russia should begin withdrawing at Christmas as a step towards ending the conflict, but Moscow rejected the proposal and said Ukraine must first accept the loss of territory. "There is no calm on the front line," Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said in a video address on Wednesday, and indicated that Russian artillery attacks on eastern cities had left "only bare ruins and craters". "The Russians fired in different areas along the entire front line," said the Ukrainian governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Amid rumours of a possible supply to Kiev of Patriot air defence systems, Russia warned Washington on Thursday that this would increase the risk of direct US involvement in the armed conflict. "Many experts, including abroad, have questioned the wisdom of such a step, which leads to an escalation of the conflict, increases the risk of direct involvement of the US military in hostilities," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a press conference. According to the spokeswoman, "Washington continues to twist the arms of other NATO countries, demanding from them a more substantial contribution to the militarisation of Ukraine".
"We would like to remind them that all weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are legitimate military targets for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and will be destroyed or captured, as our country has repeatedly said," Zakharova stressed, repeating the words of her Kremlin counterpart Dmitry Peskov. US President Joe Biden this week ruled out the possibility of his country deploying troops to Ukraine, although he has already proposed financial assistance to Kiev. Meanwhile, the city centre of Kherson was shelled for a second day, according to the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
With the war continuing unabated, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk presented a report documenting the killings of at least 441 civilians in Ukraine, which he said could constitute war crimes. "There are strong indications that the summary executions documented in the report could constitute deliberate killings, a war crime," Türk stressed as he presented it to a special session of the Human Rights Council. The study, prepared after three field visits, focuses on violations committed in the Kiev, Chernikov and Sumi regions.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, attacks by both sides continue unabated. Millions of people wake up every day to shelling, not knowing whether they will be able to celebrate Christmas with their families. While children dream, the broken hearts of so many parents weep at not being able to fulfil the wishes of the youngest and most vulnerable in the house. That is why children this year are asking for simple things like electricity, water and heating as gifts for the holidays. No toys or electronic devices. Even the classic batteries are in short supply.