Rrussian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to comply with the 36-hour ceasefire On front line in ukraine It comes at a time when its troops are struggling to deal with setbacks and mounting casualties on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s version is that it ordered a ceasefire, from Friday afternoon to Saturday midnight, because Orthodox Christians in both countries celebrate Christmas on January 7. Ukraine has questioned Russia’s sincerity, saying the Kremlin would use the pause in fighting to recoup and regroup its forces. Move more troops to the contact line. Nevertheless, if observed by both sides, it would be the first armistice on the entire front line since the war. The war started on February 24 last year, Mr. Putin’s move seems more a sign of weakness than a serious effort for peace. On New Year’s Day, Russia lost at least 89 soldiers Ukraine targeted the eastern city of Makiivka Where hundreds of jawans were temporarily deployed. In the eastern city of Bakhmut, which has been under attack for six months, Ukraine says its troops have pushed back the Russians.
Russia, which made some territorial gains in the early stages of the war, has been struggling to build battlefield momentum since Ukraine, armed and bankrolled by the collective West, launched its counteroffensive in late August. Ukraine annexed many territories from Russiawhich includes a lot kharkiv oblast in the northeast and the city of Kherson in the south. Faced with battlefield setbacks, the new commander for the war, General Sergei Surovikin, changed tactics – he redirected the offensive focus towards Donetsk, began building strong defense lines across the vast front line, and Ukraine’s vital energy infrastructure. launched a heavy bombing campaign targeting , The airstrikes have partially damaged Ukraine’s energy grid and disrupted electricity and water supplies for millions of people, but they have not changed the reality on the ground. If Ukraine survives the winter, the fighting could intensify. The US and Germany have already announced that they will send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. The US, France and Germany will also send armored vehicles to better prepare Kyiv for the coming land war. Mr. Putin, surrounded in a theater of war, may come under pressure to escalate the conflict. But continuing this war will be costly for all sides. If the ceasefire lasts for 36 hours, Mr Putin should extend it and, without preconditions, hold talks with Ukraine and its backers in the West. The temporary ceasefire should be the beginning of a permanent one.