The United States said Friday’s missile attacks in eastern Ukraine showed Putin’s Christmas ceasefire was a “cynical” move, AFP reported.

State Department spokesman Ned Price, recalling that he had already used that adjective to describe the Russian statement a day earlier, told reporters on Friday: “I think that assessment has been borne out, given what I’ve seen all day.”

“Our skepticism is justified by what we have seen from Russia during this conflict,” he added.

“We are concerned that Moscow will use any cessation of hostilities to rearm, regroup and eventually strike again with greater vengeance, brutality and even lethality,” he said.

On Friday, artillery duels continued in Bakhmut, the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine, as well as shelling in other parts of the country.

Moscow’s announcement of a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire was condemned as a maneuver by Kyiv and its Western allies.