Vladimir Putin has announced a 36-hour call for arms over the Orthodox Christmas celebration. However, Ukraine promptly rejected the offer. All news about the Ukraine war can be found in the Newsticker.
11:00 a.m.: According to British government experts, the areas in eastern Ukraine annexed by Russia in violation of international law will cost the Kremlin dearly. That emerges from the intelligence update on the Ukraine war from the British Ministry of Defense on Friday.
Accordingly, Luhansk and Donetsk, which the Russian leadership describes as People’s Republics, have long been a financial burden for Moscow. In September, they were integrated into the Russian Federation as part of mock referendums that were not recognized anywhere in the world; At the turn of the year, the separatist militias of the two regions were also integrated into the regular Russian armed forces.
“Now that the Kremlin has openly pledged to support them, they will represent a major political, diplomatic and financial burden on Russia well beyond the current phase of the conflict,” the statement said.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.
Friday, January 6, 7:10 a.m.: At 10:00 a.m. CET this Friday, a one-and-a-half-day and unilateral ceasefire by the Russian army is to begin, which Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin ordered in view of the orthodox Christmas celebrations. For the first time since the beginning of the war at the end of February there would be a ceasefire along the entire front line – if it is really observed. However, that is extremely questionable. In Kyiv there is talk of “hypocrisy” and “propaganda”, and the federal government and other Western politicians have also reacted with caution.
Putin’s decree reads: “Taking into account Patriarch Kirill’s call, I am ordering the Russian Ministry of Defense from January 6 12:00 noon (10:00 GMT) to January 7 midnight (22:00 GMT) along the entire line of armed forces dispute in Ukraine into force.”
After months of hesitation, the German government – like the USA – has decided for the first time to deliver infantry fighting vehicles to the attacked Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and US President Joe Biden agreed on this in a telephone call, as was subsequently stated in a joint statement.
Germany wants to supply the Ukrainian armed forces with several dozen Marder infantry fighting vehicles, which were developed more than 50 years ago for the Bundeswehr. The US sends Bradley tanks. Both countries will also train Ukrainian armed forces on the tanks. Kyiv reacts gratefully, but at the same time hopes for even more help in the fight against Russian aggression.
Russia’s ambassador accuses the United States of extending the Ukraine war
Moscow’s ambassador in Washington accused the USA of lacking will to end the war after the announcement that it would deliver infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. All recent US actions directly show that Washington has no desire for a political solution in Ukraine, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in Washington on Thursday, according to the Russian state agency TASS. “There should be no doubt as to who is responsible for prolonging the recent conflict.” The US administration’s decision confirms “that the United States has not listened to repeated demands from the Russian side about the potential impact of such a dangerous course Washington’s to consider.”
10:20 p.m .: Political scientist Carlo Masala from the Bundeswehr University in Munich welcomed the announcement that Germany, France and the United States would deliver more heavy weapons to Ukraine. “It’s the right decision,” he told the editorial network Germany (RND, Thursday). “She should have come earlier. If the armored personnel carriers had already been delivered in the summer, Ukraine would be further along today. But it’s good that she’s coming now.”
Masala added: “I would still say that main battle tank supplies should also be discussed. But we are now one step further. And all that ‘Putin will escalate if we deliver certain weapon systems’ talk is now off the table for good. This also opens the door for other arms shipments. In two months we may be talking about combat aircraft and battle tanks.” The political scientist emphasized: “None of this is decisive for the war. But it facilitates Ukrainian counter-offensives in the east and south.”
The chairman of the Europe Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter (Greens), told the RND: “This is huge progress and very welcome, because the Ukrainian soldiers can protect themselves better with these tanks than with the old Soviet material that has been in use up to now Ring exchange was provided. It’s also good that more anti-aircraft defenses are being made available.” He continued, “But of course it would have been a lot better if that had happened months ago. Because the belief that relatively restrained arms deliveries could ensure that Putin does not escalate any further was wrong then and is wrong today.”
9:26 p.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for the announced delivery of a Patriot air defense system. “Together with the previously delivered Iris-T system and the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, Germany is making an important contribution to intercepting all Russian missiles!” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter on Thursday evening. The Ukrainian head of state initially did not comment on the Marder-type armored personnel carriers, which had also been promised by the federal government.
7:57 p.m .: Germany and the USA want to deliver infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine for the first time to fight the Russian attackers. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and US President Joe Biden agreed on this in a telephone call on Thursday, as it was then said in a joint statement. Germany will also provide Ukraine with a Patriot anti-aircraft battery for air defense. The US had already promised Kyiv one of the modern Patriot systems.
Germany wants to supply the Ukrainian armed forces with the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which was developed more than 50 years ago for the Bundeswehr. The US sends Bradley tanks. These are the first Western-style armored personnel carriers to be received in Ukraine. It was initially unclear how many of the tanks should reach Ukraine by when.
So far, only Soviet models have been delivered to the war zone by Eastern European countries. However, Ukraine has already received anti-aircraft, armored transport and armored recovery vehicles from Western manufacturers.
Info and pictures – leopard, marten, cheetah: why heavy weapons are called predators
5:12 p.m .: Ukraine rejects a ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas. Russian troops must leave Ukraine before a ceasefire, said Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. He spoke of “hypocrisy”. “It’s a cynical trap and an element of propaganda,” Podoljak continued.
4:19 p.m .: In view of the upcoming Orthodox Christmas, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a one and a half day ceasefire in Ukraine. Putin instructed the Russian Defense Ministry to cease hostilities in the neighboring country from Friday noon until Sunday night, according to a Kremlin statement on Thursday.
“Given the large number of Orthodox citizens living in the combat zones, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas,” Putin’s statement said .
Putin said he was following an appeal from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. It would be the first comprehensive ceasefire since the war began.
3:34 p.m .: Germany is apparently considering supplying tanks to Ukraine. There will be a “qualitative step”, it said on Thursday in government circles. This is reported by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. According to SZ information, it could be a Marder-type infantry fighting vehicle. France had previously announced the delivery of “light battle tanks”. The US is also considering making Bradley infantry fighting vehicles available. “That will certainly have an impact on the German discussion,” said Federal Minister of Economics Habeck during a visit to Oslo. He confirmed that the federal government would soon decide on tank deliveries.
“Following the statements from Paris and Washington, we are continuing to consult intensively with our allies in the USA and France about further support for Ukraine,” government circles said on Thursday. According to the “Tagesspiegel”, the government wants to discuss this in mid-January, especially in the Rammstein format.
2:42 p.m .: Russia’s head of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin has threatened Germany with expropriation measures if Berlin uses Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine. “Once this decision is made, we have the right to equal actions in relation to the property of Germany and other states,” Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday. Before the start of the Russian war of aggression, German companies were among the largest direct investors in Russia.
In Germany, the possibility of confiscating Russian property for the reconstruction of Ukraine has been discussed for a long time. Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann has openly advocated expropriating Russian oligarchs in the process. However, it must be proven in court that the persons concerned were involved in war crimes or illegal warfare, he said.
Volodin blamed Germany and France for starting the war. The Minsk Agreement, which at least partially ended hostilities in eastern Ukraine in 2015, was only signed by then Chancellor Angela Merkel and then French President Francois Hollande to deceive Russia and the international community.
In an interview with Die Zeit, Merkel literally said: “And the 2014 Minsk Agreement was an attempt to give Ukraine time. She also used this time to get stronger, as you can see today.” Russia has now publicly interpreted this statement several times as if Germany and France had armed Ukraine for war.
“Now the German government has decided to shift the problems created by its predecessors onto our country,” he wrote. In addition, it is planned to appropriate Russian property for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The 58-year-old threatened that this would result in appropriate countermeasures in Russia. After many Western companies stopped operating in Russia due to the outbreak of war, the Russian government prohibited Western foreigners from selling their property without a special permit.
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