Ukranian worshippers celebrated Orthodox Christmas underground Saturday as Russian missiles continued to pound the eastern part of the country, despite a supposed Christmastime ceasefire called by Vladamir Putin.
The 36-hour truce declared by Putin was supposed to begin at midday Moscow time on Friday — the Orthodox Christmas Eve — and was due to remain in effect until midnight Saturday. But bombings reportedly continued throughout Ukrainian celebrations, killing at least three and injuring 14, the Kyiv independent reported.
The Ukraine Ministry of Defense said the dead included a 66-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman in the city of Bakhmut, a strategically important city in the eastern Donbas region where fierce fighting has continued for months, despite heavy Russian losses.
Plumes of smoke rise from a Russian strike during a 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas. REUTERSThe Defense Intelligence of Ukraine also posted a video to social media on Saturday which it said depicted Chechen volunteers fighting Russian occupiers in hotspots in the city.
Most of the Chechens fighting in the war are supporting Russia.
Meanwhile, civilians in Bakhmut set up “invincibility centers” which provide internet, phone connections, heat, water, and electricity for those whose services are disrupted by the Russian bombardment, which has devastated much of the area’s basic infrastructure.
Worshippers pray during an Orthodox Christmas mass in a basement shelter. AFP via Getty Images“When Putin says there’s a ceasefire, it’s actually the other way round: there’s no ceasefire,” said humanitarian volunteer Vasyl Liesen.”They shelled us a lot yesterday. During the night, it was more or less calm. But that’s how it usually is: one day there’s shelling, the next day it’s calmer.”
Liesen said that other volunteers were injured in the attacks, including one person who lost a limb and was evacuated from Bakhmut.
In the nearby town of Chasiv Yar, Eastern Orthodox worshippers marked the holiday in a bunker in an apartment house basement, while Russian artillery rained down outside and fighter jets flew overhead.
Ukrainian servicemen arrive to attend the Christmas service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. AFP via Getty ImagesThe number of attendees was just nine at the makeshift church ceremony after many residents fled the region, Barron’s reported.
It’s unusual here,” Zinaida Artyukhina. “Today is my first time in the basement. Thank God we gathered at all.”
