At least one person was killed in Russia's nighttime bombardment of eastern Ukraine, local officials reported on Sunday, as Moscow interrupted a self-declared Christmas ceasefire and pledged to continue fighting until it achieves triumph over its neighbor.
President Vladimir Putin issued a 36-hour ceasefire along the contact line to commemorate Russia and Ukraine's Orthodox Christmas on Saturday. Ukraine refused the truce, and shelling occurred along the frontline.
A 50-year-old man was killed by Russian shelling in the northeastern province of Kharkiv, the region's governor, Oleh Sinehubov, reported on the Telegram messaging app. Moscow received the news just minutes after midnight.
Orthodox Christians in Russia and Ukraine have historically celebrated Christmas on January 7. The largest church in Ukraine, the Orthodox Church, permitted a December 25 celebration this year. Nonetheless, many individuals commemorated the holiday on Saturday by visiting churches and cathedrals.
Moscow will continue what it terms a "special military operation" in Ukraine, which Kyiv and its Western allies view as an unjustified territorial grab.
Putin's first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko, was quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS as saying, "The president's (Putin's) orders for the special military operation will be carried out."
"There will undoubtedly be a victory."
The war, now in its eleventh month, has killed hundreds, displaced millions, and reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble with no end in sight.
In addition, Ukrainian officials reported explosions in the broader Donbas region - the front line of the battle where fighting has been raging for months.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region in Ukraine, reported nine missile strikes overnight, including seven on the damaged city of Kramatorsk. Initial reports indicate that there were no casualties.
According to a local authority, explosions were also reported in Zaporizhzhia, the administrative center of the Zaporizhzhia region, with no immediate reports of damage or deaths.
Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia is preparing a significant military onslaught. The Pentagon noted Friday that Putin's goal of taking Ukrainian territory has not altered, despite his military's continued losses.
Concerns have grown that Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, could be used as a staging area for an attack on Ukraine from the north in the wake of an increase in military activity and a recent movement of Russian troops to the nation.
Unofficial Telegram channels tracking military action in Belarus reported late Saturday that between 1,400 and 1,600 Russian troops had arrived in the city of Vitebsk in Belarus's northeastern region within the past two days.
Reuters could not independently verify the information.
