Ukrainian Prosecutor General says shelling killed two and wounded 13 during Putin’s Christmas ceasefire

On January 6, a 66-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman were killed as a result of Russian artillery fire on Bakhmut and the surrounding territories in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, says the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office.

According to the investigation, another 13 people sustained explosive mine-related injuries and shrapnel wounds.

The prosecutor’s report added that standalone homes and apartment buildings, along with other structures, were damaged by shelling.

The office has charged Russia with violating the laws and customs of war.

In times of war it is impossible to immediately verify information disseminated even by official representatives of parties to the conflict.

• According to the prosecutor’s report, shelling in Bakhmut took place during the first day of a ceasefire that Russia unilaterally declared from noon on January 6 to midnight on January 7 (Moscow time), following the suggestion of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church for observing Russian Orthodox Christmas.
• Ukrainian authorities and the US Department of Defense say that Russian troops are not observing the ceasefire. The Russian Ministry of Defense insists that Russian troops are observing the ceasefire, and claims that the shelling comes from the Ukrainian side and Russian troops are only “returning fire.”