Wounded Ukrainian soldiers ask: What ceasefire?
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a three-day pause in fighting against Ukraine, but for bloodied Ukrainian soldiers limping into a field hospital, their wounds testified that the ceasefire was not being respected.
One soldier, who gave his name as Stanislav, sat in the field hospital on Friday night cradling his left arm. It was wrapped in gauze bandage, and blood was soaking through.
'There hasn't been any ceasefire," said Stanislav, who did not give his full name in line with Ukrainian military protocol.
"Shelling has continued just as before, drones are flying just like before, the same with explosives being dropped. Nothing has changed at all."
"Look, we were driving today, there were mortars all the way. Advance parties moved forward, they tried to attack."
Putin announced the three-day ceasefire to coincide with a May 9 military parade on Moscow's Red Square where he hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders in commemoration of the end of World War Two.
The ceasefire is due to end at midnight (2100 GMT) on Saturday.
Ukraine did not sign up for the ceasefire, calling it a ruse by Putin. Each side has accused the other of carrying on fighting regardless, though there has been a pause in long-range attacks on each other's capitals.
Reuters was given access to the field hospital, in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine that is partially controlled by Russian forces, on condition the news agency did not disclose the exact location.
Medics examined soldiers as they came in and replaced the dressings that had been hurriedly put on their wounds out in the field. The more serious cases were placed on a gurney while medics bandaged them, checked their vital signs, and cleaned dried blood and mud off their skin.
One of the medics, who gave his name as Oleh, said it was a regular night's work, even with the Russian-declared ceasefire.
'The same as usual, we got used to it. They will never change," he said of the Russian forces.
"Just the opposite, we know that if they declare some sort of ceasefire it will be exactly the opposite. No question about that. They keep shooting."
(Writing by Christian Lowe, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 minutes ago
- The Star
Polish president vetoes bill easing rules about building wind farms
FILE PHOTO: Polish President Karol Nawrocki speaks as he attends the ceremony of accepting the sovereignty over the Armed Forces for the five-year term, in Warsaw, Poland, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a bill meant to ease rules for building onshore wind farms on Thursday, saying that a government decision to bundle it together with a freeze on energy prices amounted to "blackmail". The accusation is the latest salvo in a battle with the centrist government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, an arch rival of the president's allies in the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party. The bill would have cut the distance required between planned installations and residential locations, while keeping permitting more restrictive for projects close to protected natural areas. It included incentives for municipalities and homeowners in areas located close to new wind farms. It also included a clause that would have frozen energy prices for households until the end of the year. Nawrocki, who opposes easing the wind farm regulations but is in favour of an energy price freeze, objected to the two elements being combined in one bill. "There is one bill that I have ... unequivocally decided to veto," Nawrocki told a news conference. "The wind farm bill ... is a form of blackmail by the parliamentary majority and the government, not only against the President of the Republic of Poland, but also against society," he said. Nawrocki said he would propose a new bill that would copy the price freeze section of the vetoed legislation while dropping the wind farm elements. Energy Minister Milosz Motyka responded to the veto, writing on X that Poland needed to unlock "the potential offered by cheap energy sources." "President Nawrocki's veto of the law guaranteeing low energy prices is a blow to Polish families, industry, energy security, and the entire economy," he wrote. (Reporting by Alan Charlish, Anna Koper, and Karol Badohal; Editing by Joe Bavier)
The Star
3 minutes ago
- The Star
Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai's 'punditry' not criminal: lawyer
HONG KONG: Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai's lawyer clashed with judges on Thursday (Aug 21) over whether the pro-democracy newspaper founder's "armchair punditry" on social media and other platforms breached the city's national security law. The 77-year-old founder of the now-closed Apple Daily has pleaded not guilty to two counts of foreign collusion, with authorities accusing him of using various platforms to lobby Western nations to sanction China and Hong Kong. The charges were brought under the city's national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub the year before. Lawyers are presenting their closing arguments in the trial, which began in December 2023. Prosecutors have cited 161 articles, including op-eds carrying Lai's byline, as part of their evidence that the tycoon conspired to lobby for sanctions against China and Hong Kong. Defence lawyer Robert Pang read out some of Lai's social media posts in court. He also pointed to a 2020 livestream in which Lai warned about China's "war-wolf attitude" in foreign relations that the mogul said would not change unless Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped down. "He's commenting on world affairs... (like) over the dimsum table," Pang told the court. "It's not a request for Xi Jinping to step down." However, the three-judge panel disagreed multiple times, with judge Esther Toh telling Pang to interpret Lai's words "without obfuscation". The 161 articles have also been cited as evidence of "seditious publication", which is being brought against Lai as a separate charge. Western nations and rights groups have called for Lai's release. Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday that it and "a coalition of 72 human rights and press freedom organisations" are urging British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to secure the release of Lai, a British citizen. Hong Kong authorities "strongly disapproved and rejected the slanderous remarks" last week from foreign organisations and media regarding Lai's case. Officials also maintained that Lai was receiving "adequate and comprehensive" medical care while in custody. Lai has been fitted with a heart-rate monitor and prescribed medication after his defence team said last week he was experiencing heart palpitations. - AFP
The Star
32 minutes ago
- The Star
US sentences Chinese national to eight years for smuggling arms to North Korea
The US has sentenced a Chinese national to eight years in prison for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition, and other military items to North Korea via Hong Kong in return for US$2 million in payments from Pyongyang 'for his efforts', the Justice Department said on Tuesday. Taking advantage of lax US gun laws, Shenghua Wen, 42, purchased many of the weapons in Texas and drove them to California, where they were shipped out of the Port of Long Beach, according to court documents. At least one shipment was listed as a refrigerator on export documents. 'Wen is a citizen of the People's Republic of China who entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the US illegally after his student visa expired in December 2013,' the department said. 'Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea's government' at two North Korean consulates in China who directed Wen to procure goods on Pyongyang's behalf, it added. Wen, who was taken into custody in December, pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. His sentence was handed down on Monday by the US District Court for the Central District of California. As outlined by the Justice Department, two North Korean officials contacted Wen online in 2022, nearly a decade after Pyongyang made its original contact, and directed him to buy and smuggle US firearms, related goods and sensitive technology to North Korea by way of China. 'Wen stated that he was likely selected to procure goods on behalf of the North Korean government because he was good at smuggling,' according to court documents. 'Wen explained that the money was wired from a bank in China to Hong Kong and then deposited into business and personal bank accounts belonging to Wen's partner,' identified only as 'Individual 1', the documents said. Among those he acquired, it said, were some 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition primarily used in handguns and submachine guns; equipment used to identify chemical threats; and a handheld broadband receiver to detect illegal, disruptive or jamming signals 'ideal for locating hidden eavesdropping devices', according to the complaint. 'Wen explained that he believed the North Korean government wanted the weapons, ammunition, and other military-related equipment to prepare for an attack against South Korea,' the complaint added, with Pyongyang also requesting military uniforms 'which would subsequently be used by the North Korean military to disguise their soldiers to conduct a surprise attack on South Korea'. Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian aeroplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter or other aircraft for use in surveillance or identifying targets. In 2023, Wen reportedly bought the AK5000 Inc weapon company in Houston – described as 'Dealer in Firearms Other Than Destructive Devices' – for around US$150,000 paid for with North Korean funds. That year, he shipped at least three containers of firearms out of Long Beach, including one late in the year that ended up in the North Korean port of Nampo after transhipping through Hong Kong. Yun Sun, a senior fellow with the Stimson Center, said the case is a bit 'bizarre'. 'It is hard to imagine that the firearms and ammo acquired by a single individual could make a major difference for North Korea's military sector,' she said, adding that this case points to China as a transshipment hub. 'It does point to the loopholes, intended or not, in the customs inspection on the Chinese side. And it does raise questions about China's complicity in the shipment.' Wen, who was a resident of Ontario, California, admitted in his plea agreement that he knew it was illegal to ship the goods to North Korea, never obtained the required licences and did not inform Washington that he was acting as an agent for Pyongyang. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment; lawyers with the federal public defenders office, which represented Wen, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Until Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, North Korea was the most heavily sanctioned country on Earth, much of that sanctioning tied to the country's expanded nuclear weapons programme following Pyongyang's first nuclear test in 2006. That saw the UN Security Council ban trade with North Korea, initially heavy conventional weapons such as tanks, warships and combat aircraft and subsequently all arms and related materiel, including light weapons. Pyongyang has found imaginative workarounds. 'North Korea has become adept at evading sanctions that the international community has imposed on it,' a 2021 Rand study said, adding that in particular it tends to rely on its diplomats, overseas workers, third-party intermediaries and front or shell companies to smuggle material. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
