EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a 36-hour ceasefire on Orthodox Christmas “unbelievable”, adding that the Russian president’s order appeared to be an attempt by Moscow “to buy time to regroup, The Guardian reports from link to AFP.

• “The Kremlin absolutely lacks credibility, and this declaration of a unilateral ceasefire does not inspire confidence.
• It was Russia that started this illegitimate aggression. When the aggressor talks about a ceasefire, I think the reaction that comes to all of us is skepticism in the face of such hypocrisy,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Morocco.

He called for “concrete actions on the ground”, in particular for a “complete cessation of military attacks” and Moscow’s withdrawal of troops and military equipment from the territory of Ukraine.

The Russian army on Friday assured that it was abiding by the two-day truce that Moscow unilaterally declared in Ukraine on the occasion of the old-style Orthodox Christmas, but accused Kyiv of continuing the bombings, AFP and Reuters reported.

The Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko said that the Russian army bombed the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine twice on Friday after the unilateral ceasefire adopted by Moscow came into force.

Also, according to AFP, after the truce came into effect, bombing was heard from both sides of the front in Bakhmut, the epicenter of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, writes Agerpres.

The unilateral ceasefire adopted by Russia in Ukraine on the occasion of the Orthodox Christmas in the old style was supposed to start at noon on Friday (12:00 Moscow time – 09:00 GMT), although Kyiv questioned the sincerity of the initiative. . Ukraine rejected this initiative as a “propaganda act”.