On Ukraine front, few believe Russia would cease fire

Ukrainian soldiers holding the front line in the war-battered east of the country, the prospect of a 30-day ceasefire with Russia brought little relief — only distrust and suspicion.

Senior Ukrainian and US officials walked away from high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia late Tuesday agreeing to present Russia with a proposal to halt more than three years of fighting for several weeks.

But in eastern Ukraine, there was little hope that even if Moscow agreed to a pause, the Kremlin would make good on promises to stop fighting.
A 44-year-old serviceman with the call sign «Malchik» («Boy») said Russia would claim to adhere to a ceasefire and then find ways to keep attacking.

«They'll say in public that there's no fighting and no shelling. But this scum has always harassed us and it will continue to,» he told AFP in the frontline city of Kramatorsk.

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«They need to be pushed down, broken on the battlefield,» he added, referring to Russian forces.

Ukrainian officials have warned throughout the full-scale invasion launched by Moscow in February 2022 that Russia is unlikely to hold up any peace agreements.

They have cited failed peace talks at the beginning of Russia's invasion and a Black Sea grain exports deal — brokered by the United Nations and Turkey — that Russia scrapped.

— 'Tanks to the front' -

Maksym Taranenko, a 28-year-old Ukrainian soldier said a 30-day pause in fighting would suit Russian forces very well.

«You can bring tanks to the front line without anybody shooting at them,» he said.
He said it was unlikely that Ukrainian forces would enjoy the same strategic benefits since any observers overseeing such a halt would not allow Kyiv to do the same.

Predictions that Moscow would trash any deal