Strikes in Ukraine prove Russian ceasefire was 'cynical': US
07 January 2023, 07:55 pm | Updated: 22 November 2024, 07:01 pm
The United States said that strikes in eastern Ukraine on Friday showed that a Christmas ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "cynical" ploy, reports AFP.
State Department spokesman Ned Price recalled that he had called the ceasefire "nothing but cynical" when Putin announced it Thursday.
"I think that assessment has been borne out given what we've seen over the course of the day," Price told reporters.
"We believe that our skepticism is warranted because of what we've seen from Russia over the course of this conflict," Price said.
"It is our concern that Moscow would seek to use any potential pause in fighting to refit, to regroup and ultimately to re-attack with more vengeance, with more brutality, with even more lethality."
The Ukrainian government, as well as European powers, have also voiced doubts about Putin's ceasefire for the Orthodox Christmas.
Artillery exchanges pounded eastern Ukraine on Friday, giving residents no respite from the nearly year-old invasion.
