Calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine were heard in Russia and abroad this Thursday, January 5, less than a week after a particularly deadly Ukrainian strike which caused the death of at least 89 Russian soldiers in the East. They were partially heard.
- Putin orders a ceasefire in Ukraine on January 6-7
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his forces to implement a ceasefire in Ukraine on Friday January 6 and Saturday January 7 on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin said. “In view of the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Russian Minister of Defense to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine from 12 p.m. January 6 of this year until midnight on January 7,” he said in the Kremlin statement.
Shortly before this announcement, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill had proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Orthodox Christmas holiday on January 7. This truce must, according to him, allow the Orthodox to be able to “attend the offices of Christmas Eve and Day” in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities immediately expressed their disagreement. Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the presidency, called the ceasefire “hypocritical” and accused Putin of wanting to “buy time”. “Russia must leave the occupied territories, only there will there be a ‘temporary truce’,” he wrote on Twitter.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also called on Vladimir Putin for a “unilateral ceasefire” on Thursday morning. In a telephone conversation with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the head of the Russian Federation had “repeated that Russia is open to a serious dialogue – provided that the authorities in kyiv comply with the well-known and repeatedly expressed demands” , according to a statement from the Kremlin. President Volodymyr Zelensky has for the time being always refused to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, insisting on the objective of the return of all the occupied territories to the bosom of kyiv by military means.
- Germany and the United States are preparing to deliver new weapons to Ukraine
In line with France, Germany and the United States are preparing to deliver new weapons to Ukraine. The White House announced on Thursday that the two countries planned to deliver infantry armored vehicles to kyiv, of the Bradley type on the American side and of the Marder model on the German side.
This announcement follows a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who expressed their “joint determination” to support Ukraine, according to a statement from the US executive. So far, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticized for the timidity of his support. He had always refused to deliver tanks to Ukraine, believing that such a decision should be taken in consultation with the Western allies.
- ‘Commanders’ negligence’ to blame for death of 89 Russian soldiers
The announcement of the toll of the Ukrainian bombardment on New Year’s Eve which left at least 89 dead in Makiivka – the heaviest in a single attack admitted by Moscow since the start of the offensive in February – did not fail to arouse new criticism of the military command, already castigated since Monday for its “incompetence” by correspondents and commentators. The boss of the RT channel, the spearhead of the Kremlin’s propaganda internationally, Margarita Simonian, called for the names of the Russian officers involved to be published and to take “the measure of their responsibility”.
Many Russians are calling on social media for a transparent investigation into the circumstances of the strike. ‘It is not cellphones and their owners that are to blame, but the banal negligence of commanders, who I am sure did not even try to relocate staff’ out of the building, the group blasted. “Notes from a veteran” on Telegram, which has 200,000 subscribers.
- Shelling resumes in Donetsk and kills five
Several towns in Donetsk have been hit by shelling over the past 24 hours, according to a message posted by the region’s governor on Telegram. Fighting is still raging to gain ground on both sides, in this Oblast claimed as annexed by the Russian Federation since September. SAccording to the daily report of the Ukrainian presidency, five people have been killed and eight injured in the past 24 hours.
- France offers the first Western tanks to Ukraine
During a telephone interview, Emmanuel Macron for his part announced by telephone on January 4 to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that France would deliver French-made AMX-10 R “light combat tanks” to Ukraine, according to the ‘Elysium.
“This is the first time that tanks of Western design have been supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces”, affirmed the French presidency. According to Paris, Emmanuel Macron, who reaffirmed to Volodymyr Zelensky the “unwavering support” of France “until victory”, thus wanted to “demonstrate the durability and continuity” of French military aid. On Twitter, Volodymyr Zelensky thanked France for this new aid. The number of tanks and delivery times were not specified.
Rumors about the state of health of Vladimir Putin are recurrent. In an interview broadcast by the American television channel ABC, Wednesday January 4, Kyrylo Boudanov, the director of Ukrainian military intelligence, assures that the Russian president is “dying”. “We think it’s cancer”, explains this senior military official, who says he had access to his information from “human sources” even if this is unverifiable because nothing has been officially communicated.
- Russian prisoners freed after fighting in Ukraine
A first group of Russian men who had been recruited in prison by the Wagner militia, have been granted amnesty and released for agreeing to fight in Ukraine, announced on Thursday the boss of the paramilitary group, whose men are present on the front lines in alongside the Russian army. “You worked until the end of your contract. You worked honorably, with dignity,” he said in a video broadcast by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, alongside men with blurred faces. He called on Russian society to “treat with the utmost respect” these men who fought for six months in exchange for their freedom.