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A Kremlin-declared truce in fighting in Ukraine for Orthodox Christmas has been broken by exchanges of artillery fire along the front line, including in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, where one person was killed, according to the head of the regional military administration.

The fire department in Kherson was shelled on January 6, said Yaroslav Yanushevych, who described the person killed as a firefighter and said four others were injured, including one who is in serious condition. All were hospitalized, he said, adding that a house near the fire station was damaged in the attack.

“Despite the fact that the rescuers themselves came under fire, they immediately set out to extinguish the blaze,” Yanushevych said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the cease-fire to begin at 9 a.m. GMT on January 6 and run until midnight on January 7, but his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and several Western officials accused the Kremlin of wanting to use the period to improve its position on the battlefield.

Russian state television said the truce began being honored at noon Moscow time “along the entire line of contact” in Ukraine.

But Ukrainian officials in Kramatorsk reported shelling, and the Russian state news agency TASS said Ukrainian forces had shelled Donetsk “exactly at noon.” A witness in the Russian-occupied regional capital described artillery fired from pro-Russian positions on the city’s outskirts after the cease-fire was meant to go into effect, according to Reuters.

In the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk close to the eastern front line, rockets slammed into a residential building damaging 14 homes but causing no casualties, the mayor said. The attack occurred before the cease-fire was supposed to start.

Pro-Russian officials had indicated that Putin’s order only covered offensive operations and Russia forces would hit back if fired upon, according to Reuters. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed administrator of the Kherson region, described the cease-fire as “a gesture of goodwill” but said the situation on the front lines would not change because of it.

Ukrinform reported almost an hour after the start of the cease-fire that an air alert had been issued across the country.

None of the reports could be independently verified. It was not clear if Ukraine would nonetheless abide by the truce, nor did Moscow say whether Russian troops would retaliate if engaged by Ukrainian forces.

Some Western governments — including the United States — called the cease-fire a ploy by Russia to regroup after weeks of setbacks.

“Everyone in the world knows how the Kremlin uses a lull in the war to continue the war with new strength,” Zelenskiy said in a video message late on January 5.

Putin’s call for a cease-fire came on the same day that Germany and Washington pledged additional military aid for Kyiv — including Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, as well as an additional Patriot air defense battery — with Biden saying the promise comes at a “critical point” in the conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, announced the delivery of French-made AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine, the first Western contribution of such weapons to Kyiv.

Kyiv has been pressing Western governments for heavy armored vehicles.

U.S. officials said on January 5 that Washington’s new aid package, which includes dozens of the Bradley vehicles, would total almost $3 billion. the largest single package pledged so far during the war, which Russia launched more than 10 months ago.

Zelenskiy said he spoke by phone to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on January 6 and thanked him for a “powerful defense package” that would help Ukraine fend off Russian troops and defend its cities.

He also said they had discussed further defense cooperation but gave no details.

With reporting by Reuters and AP