MOSCOW, January 6. /TASS/. The armed forces of Ukraine shelled Donetsk immediately after the start of the ceasefire announced by Russia from 12:00 p.m. on January 6. Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Western countries reacted negatively to the Russian initiative, accusing Russia of trying to regroup troops. Only UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Pope Francis supported the introduction of the ceasefire.
The UN said that the unilateral ceasefire declared by Russia for 36 hours will give them the opportunity to send a humanitarian aid convoy to people who could not previously be reached amid fighting.
On Thursday, the Kremlin press service reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed that a ceasefire regime be imposed along the entire line of contact in the zone of the special military operation from 12:00 on January 6 until 24:00 on January 7. Later, the Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu issued a corresponding order.
Earlier, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia addressed the conflicting sides urging them to declare a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine as well as in Donbass and other Russia’s new regions involved in military actions.
However, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that Russia is attempting to hide new acts of "aggression" under the pretext of the ceasefire, commenting on the Russian initiative. "Russia will not manage to conceal in silence its preparation for a new wave of aggression," Zelensky said.
US President Joe Biden insisted that a 36-hour Christmas ceasefire along the entire line of combat engagement in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine is an attempt "to find some oxygen."
Earlier on Friday, the Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) mission to the Joint Control and Coordination Center on issues related to Ukraine’s war crimes (JCCC) said that the Ukrainian armed forces shelled Donetsk at exactly 12:00 a.m. Moscow time, when the ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect. "Six shells of 155 mm caliber were fired," the mission said in its Telegram channel.
Three people were injured, according to the local emergency services, after the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled the Kherson region after the start of the ceasefire regime announced by Russia. "Despite Christmas and the declared ceasefire, nationalists from the Tsunami battalion used artillery shelling the settlement of Alyoshka today at 16:00. According to preliminary data, three civilians were wounded," the report said. Two houses were reportedly damaged.
However, the UN saw the ceasefire as a positive opportunity. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said Russia's 36-hour unilateral ceasefire would allow the organization to send a convoy of humanitarian aid to people previously out of reach due to fighting.