Kremlin-ordered truce is uncertain amid mutual mistrust
The impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for his forces in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour cease-fire is in doubt KYIV, Ukraine -- The impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for his forces in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour cease-fire was in doubt Friday after Kyiv officials dismissed the move as a ploy but didn’t clarify whether Ukrainian troops would follow suit. Moscow also didn’t say whether it would hit back if Ukraine kept fighting. The Russian-declared truce in the nearly 11-month war began at noon Friday and was to continue through midnight Saturday Moscow time (0900 GMT Friday to 2100 GMT Saturday; 4 a.m. EST Friday to 4 p.m. EST Saturday). There were no immediate reports of it being broken. Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv about 40 minutes after the Russian cease-fire was to come into effect, but no explosions were heard. A widely-used Alerts in Ukraine app, which includes information from emergency services, showed sirens blaring a...