The American Congress, still without a “speaker”, is sinking into crisis

kyiv: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his troops to ceasefire in Ukraine for Orthodox Christmas Jan. 6-7, the first major truce since the invasion began almost a year ago, which Kyiv immediately called “hypocrisy”.

A day after France’s announcement to send light tanks to Ukraine, the United States and Germany promised Kyiv, in a joint press release, delivery of armored infantry, Bradley-type on the American side and Marder models. .

Berlin has also promised to provide Patriot air defense batteries, as Washington has done.

Volodymyr Zelensky immediately praised the “very important decision”, thanking the American and German leaders.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin had announced a unilateral ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas, following the call from Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, but also a proposal from Turkey’s Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called M Putin in the morning.

“Recalling the call of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instructed the Minister of Defense of Russia to introduce a cease-fire regime along the lines of contact between the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6 this year until midnight on January 7,” the Russian president said in a statement. Kremlin statement.

“Give some air”

He also called on the Ukrainian troops to honor the truce to give the Orthodox, the majority confessional in Ukraine as in Russia, the possibility to “attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the day of the Nativity of Christ”. . .

This is the first general ceasefire since the start of the war, only local agreements have been agreed so far, such as the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal factory in Mariupol (southeast) in April.

“Russia must leave the occupied territories, only then will there be + temporary truce +. Take care of your hypocrisy,” reacted on Twitter, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak.

For the American president, Vladimir Putin is trying to “comfort himself.” He was “ready to bomb hospitals, nurseries and churches (…) on December 25 and on New Year’s Eve,” joked Joe Biden.

The Russian truce would bring “neither freedom nor security to people living in fear every day under Russian occupation”, as part of Germany’s diplomatic response.

In his telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, Erdogan had proposed a “unilateral ceasefire” meant to support “peace pleas and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv”.

Russia is ready for “serious dialogue” with Ukraine provided that Ukraine complies with Russia’s demands and accepts the “new territorial reality” born of this country’s invasion in February, Vladimir Putin argued.

Moscow claimed in September the annexation of four territories occupied at least partially by its army in Ukraine, despite a series of military setbacks on the ground, such as those in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in March 2014.

Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from his country, including Crimea, before entering into dialogue with Moscow. If not, he vowed to take back the occupied territories by force.

During his discussions with Erdogan, Putin accused the West of “feeding the kyiv regime with weapons and military equipment and providing it with operational and targeting information”.

As a member of NATO, Turkey does not associate itself with sanctions against Russia and seeks to maintain a mediator position between Kyiv and Moscow. Thus playing a key role in particular in the agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian cereals.

Civilians killed

A Russian ceasefire was offered less than a week after a Ukrainian attack on New Year’s Eve killed at least 89 people in Makiivka, eastern Ukraine. A bombing that was so lethal that the Russian army had to admit, an extremely rare fact, and one that gave rise to criticism in Russia of the military command.

On the front lines in Ukraine, bombings continued on Thursday with notably the death of a woman and her 12-year-old son in a Russian bombing in Beryslav, near Kherson, in the south, according to deputy head of the presidential administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

Two people were also killed and three others injured in an attack on a village in the Zaporizhia region, also in the south, according to Governor Oleksandre Staroukh.

Residents of the eastern town of Chassiv Iar told AFP on Thursday that a Russian missile hit a building before dawn, wounding a man and a woman.

“When things get really difficult, we will leave the city,” Chassiv resident Iar Olena told AFP.