VLADDY CHEEK
Putin orders CEASEFIRE in first break of bloody war – but Ukraine tells ‘hypocrite’ Vlad to ‘get out’ if he wants truce
PUTIN has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire on the Ukraine frontline in the first break in fighting since the start of the war.
Putin instructed his defence minister Sergei Shoigu to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact from 12:00 on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7, the Kremlin reported.
5
5
5
The ceasefire will coincide with Orthodox Christmas celebrations which traditionally take place on January 7.
Shoigu called on Ukraine to mirror the ceasefire and allow combatants to attend Christmas services during the break.
But Ukraine has hit back at 'hypocrite' Vlad with a brutal response.
On Twitter President Zelensky's advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak wrote: "First. Ukraine does not attack foreign territory and does not kill the civilian population, as Russia does.
READ MORE ON UKRAINE
"Ukraine only destroys members of the occupation army on its territory... Second.
"The Russian Federation must leave the occupied territories - only then will a "temporary truce" begin.
"Leave the hypocrisy to yourself..."
It remains unclear if Russia will stand by the proposed break in fighting.
Most read in The Sun
There are fears the ceasefire could be an attempt by Vlad to amass more troops and move his military equipment into Belarus.
Russia has already lost thousands of troops, tanks and helicopters in the shambolic invasion that has now rolled on for 11 months.
Terrifying footage showed major new supplies of Russian armoured vehicles along with troops and weaponry have been moved to across the border.
Russian BTR-80K amphibious armoured personnel carriers and BTR-82A APCs can been seen on trains in the clip.
The move of hardware to Belarus comes as Russia is believed to be planning new offensives against Ukraine from the north.
But Belarus claimed the weaponry was being supplied to its forces for defensive purposes.
But it's claimed that Putin is pressing Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko to play a more active role in the war.
The Belarus defence ministry said: "The decision to create a regional grouping of troops on the territory of Belarus was made and is being implemented solely in the interests of strengthening the protection and defence of the Union State, based on the current situation near our borders.
"Personnel, weapons, military and special equipment of the armed forces of the Russian Federation will continue to arrive in the Republic of Belarus.”
The ministry said "combat coordination activities" were planned as well as air force drills.
"Joint training of the Belarusian and Russian components of the regional grouping of troops is complex in nature and covers not only the combat component, but also all supporting systems," the ministry said.
The shock ceasefire comes after Putin blamed his own troops for a Ukraine missile attack in occupied Donbas.
Kremlin chiefs admitted at least 89 soldiers were killed in the strike, which happened just after midnight on New Year’s Day.
However, the real toll is likely to be far higher.
Ukraine said 400 died with another 300 wounded while pro-war Russian pundits said hundreds were killed and injured in the strike.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the cause of the strike was “obvious” and blamed the “turning on and massive use of mobile phones” within range of Ukraine’s artillery.
It said: “This allowed the enemy to locate the personnel for launching the missile strike.”
Russia has set up a commission to investigate.
Lt Gen Sergei Sevryukov said those found responsible would be brought to justice.
He said “all the necessary measures are being adopted to prevent this kind of tragic incident in the future”.
GRIM TOLL
The tyrant unleashed his troops into Ukraine on February 24, and since then he has seen an average of 30 tanks and armoured trucks destroyed each day by defenders.
Ukraine has been humiliating Putin by wiping out much of Russia's war machine and recapturing territory- with the landscape littered with burnt-out remains of Russian tanks.
Grim figures from Ukraine's Ministry of Defence show Russia has suffered untold setbacks with thousands of vehicles blown up.
At least 105,960 Russian soldiers have been killed, while 3,029 tanks and 6,075 armoured trucks have been ruined, according to statistics.
On top of that, Putin is understood to have lost 16 warshipss and boats, 552 planes and helicopters, and 711 missiles.
The ministry also claims 4,707 vehicles and fuel tanks, 180 pieces of special equipment and 2,016 artillery systems have been blown apart.
As the Russian death toll in Ukraine has surpassed the grim tally of 100,000, experts believe Putin's regime could collapse in the next year as his own circle turn on him.
This week footage emerged of a Ukrainian kamikaze drone smashing into a Russian tank.
Drones have been a highly effective weapon for Kyiv’s troops in their battle aginst Putin's forces and have been put to devastating use against armoured vehicles.
Ukraine was sent deadly "kamikaze" Switchblade drones which can hover over a Russian tank for 40 minutes before striking at 115mph by the United States.
Another PoV video showed the remarkable moment a Russian tank erupted into a fireball after a Ukrainian kamikaze drone.
The footage obtained from the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine shows the crew of the tank blasted as they were said to have been sitting on the top boozing.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Meanwhile, a drone was used to blitz a Russian base while other dramatic footage showed the moment Russian tanks were obliterated after they were spotted hiding in back gardens.
5
5
Topics