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Moscow’s unilaterally declared cease-fire — which brought no sign of a pause in fighting in the 36 hours that it was supposedly in place — came to an end early Sunday. Both sides traded blame for the ongoing shelling, which threatened to mar Orthodox Christmas celebrations on both sides. Ukraine had not agreed to a truce, viewing it as a ploy for Russian forces to regroup.
Russian media and Moscow’s proxy officials accused Ukraine of shelling two power plants in Russian-controlled areas of the eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine has not acknowledged reports of the attack.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Moscow’s war in Ukraine brought harsh tactics against gay Russians at home: The idea of Russia as a defender of traditional Christian beliefs — used to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — has had consequences at home, too, where it has driven parliament to tighten restrictions on the LGBTQ community.
“There is tons of censorship: what you can’t talk about, joke about, what songs you can’t sing or whose tracks you can’t play in order not to attract unwanted attention from the authorities,” Laura, a 21-year-old drag artist, told The Washington Post’s Mary Ilyushina and Mary Gelman.
“Some clubs are dropping drag acts. But I’d say censorship is what worries me the most. Before this law, there was freedom of speech. Now, for example, if there are a couple of men or a couple of women sitting in the audience, we can’t joke on any sexual topics because this would already qualify as ‘gay propaganda.’ It feels like we are all gathered at a birthday party for a 70-year-old grandma and we can’t take a step outside of what’s allowed.”