The 36-hour truce ordered by the Kremlin is in the dark. The United States considered that the strikes carried out on Friday January 6 in eastern Ukraine showed that the ceasefire announced by Vladimir Putin for Orthodox Christmas was a “cynical” step. At the same time, Washington announced major new military aid to Ukraine, valued at more than $3 billion, including 50 Bradley-type armored infantry and dozens of other armored vehicles. “This victorious year has only just begun”, immediately rejoiced the Ukrainian presidency, specifying that the American “package” also includes Himars precision missiles and Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles.
- Russia claims to continue its ceasefire despite Ukrainian artillery fire
The Russian army assured, this Saturday, January 7, that it intended to continue to observe until the end of the day the unilateral ceasefire decreed by Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. . “Despite the artillery fire of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on populated areas and Russian positions, the implementation of the announced ceasefire regime will be continued by Russian troops until midnight,” the Russian Ministry of Security said. Defense in its daily report. Ukraine has questioned the sincerity of the Russian truce, saying it is a ruse to buy time.
Journalists present in Chassiv Iar, in the east of the country, noted sustained bombardments throughout the morning of this Saturday. In Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting located further north, AFP had already heard the day before artillery duels on both sides of the front, in the hours following the establishment of the unilateral ceasefire by the Russia. However, these shots were of less intensity compared to the previous days.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, two people were killed and 13 injured in Bakhmut on Friday, in a city largely destroyed by fighting and where both sides face heavy casualties. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian troops also shelled the Kherson region on Friday, killing a rescue worker and injuring seven others.
- Washington provides $3 billion in new aid to Ukraine
The United States announced on Friday major new military aid to Ukraine, valued at more than $3 billion, including 50 Bradley-type armored infantry and dozens of other armored vehicles. This new tranche – $2.85 billion worth of weapons from US army stocks and 225 million orders from the defense industry – does not include the tanks that kyiv is demanding from the West, but it will strengthen the movement capabilities of Ukrainian forces.
This is the “highest tranche of military aid by total value that we have pledged so far,” Laura Cooper, deputy deputy secretary of defense for Russia at the Pentagon, told reporters. It includes in particular 50 Bradley type M2A2, which are equipped with a 25 mm gun as well as an anti-tank missile launcher, and can transport, in addition to the crew, six combatants. These tracked tanks can also fire Javelin anti-tank missiles, which the Ukrainians used extensively at the start of the Russian invasion.
In addition, the Ukrainian president sent his congratulations to the member of the Republican Party, Kevin McCarthy, who was elected speaker of the American House of Representatives on the night of Friday to Saturday. It is on this institution that the release of additional envelopes of aid to Ukraine will depend.
- The Russian ceasefire is “cynical” for Washington, “not credible” according to the EU
The United States said the strikes carried out on Friday in eastern Ukraine showed that the ceasefire announced by Vladimir Putin for Orthodox Christmas was a “cynical” step. State Department spokesman Ned Price, recalling having already used the adjective to describe the Russian announcement the day before, told reporters on Friday: “I believe that the validity of this assessment has been confirmed, given what we witnessed all day.” “Our skepticism is justified by what we have witnessed from Russia throughout this conflict,” he added.
The head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, called it “hypocrisy”. “The Kremlin completely lacks credibility and this declaration of a desire for a unilateral ceasefire is not credible,” Josep Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Fez, Morocco. “The answer that comes to mind for all of us is skepticism in the face of so much hypocrisy,” he said.
- Russian oligarch Abramovich transferred assets to his children to avoid sanctions
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich tried to protect his fortune by transferring several billion dollars to his children just before he was targeted by Western sanctions, according to information published by the newspaper on Friday. The Guardian. According to documents obtained by the British daily, ten trusts for the benefit of Roman Abramovich “were quickly reorganized in early February 2022”, a few weeks before the invasion of Ukraine.
“These changes made Abramovich’s seven children, the youngest aged 9, the beneficiaries of the assets held in these trusts for a value of at least 4 billion dollars”, adds the newspaper, which specifies that this reorganization was not illegal. These assets would include real estate properties, yachts, helicopters and private jets.
- Germany will deliver 40 “Marder” armored vehicles by spring
Germany will send 40 “Marder” armored vehicles to the Ukrainian army in the first quarter of 2023, the government said on Friday, the day after Berlin and Washington announced a new phase in military support for kyiv. “Forty vehicles will be ready in the first quarter, and can be sent to Ukraine”, after an “eight-week training” provided to the Ukrainian army, said Steffen Hebestreit, the spokesman for the German government, during a meeting. a press briefing on Friday.
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Thursday the dispatch of infantry fighting vehicles to support Ukrainian troops against the Russian army, but had not yet specified either their number or the timetable for their deployment. these deliveries.
