Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 36-hour cease-fire during Orthodox Christmas, but fighting continued over the weekend as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the cease-fire.
Shelling took place on Friday in the city of Bakhmut, which killed at least two people and wounded 13 others, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, Ukraine struck houses where a drone pilot marked Russian soldiers taking cover, according to The New York Times.
Why did Russia claim an attack that killed 500 Ukrainians?
Russia claims it executed an attack on Ukraine in the city of Kramatorsk that killed at least 600 “Ukrainian forces,” but Ukraine denies the claim.
“This is another piece of Russian propaganda,” Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, told the BBC.
Russia’s defense ministry announced the attack as retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on New Year’s Day that killed 89 Russian soldiers in the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Makiivka, per BBC.
No reports have been released to confirm the deaths in Kramatorsk.
What is the U.S. doing to help Ukraine?
Ukraine will soon receive new fighting vehicles from the U.S. and the announcement “clarifies Western support for Ukraine for a potential offensive in the months to come,” Ulrich Speck, German foreign policy analyst, told The New York Times. “And it signals to Moscow that we’re not on the trajectory to peace negotiations soon.”