05.01.2023, Moscow.
We publish a summary of events concerning the situation around Ukraine as of 7 p.m., January 5.
Political situation
In 2022, Russia returned to the top ten strongest economies in the world. The country is now in ninth place, ahead of Italy, Brazil and South Korea. The previous year, Russia ranked 11th.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the settlement in Ukraine, the situation in Syria and aspects of bilateral relations between Russia and Turkey on January 5, the administration of the Turkish leader reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to introduce a Christmas ceasefire along the entire line of contact from 12:00 a.m. on January 6 until 0:00 a.m. on January 7. Reactions:
- DPR head Denis Pushilin: The decision concerns the cessation of initiative fire or offensive actions from our side. This does not mean that Russia will not respond to the enemy’s provocations or give it a chance to improve its positions on the line of contact during the holiday hours.
- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: The so-called ceasefire will bring neither freedom nor security to people who live in daily fear under Russian occupation
- Zelensky: Now Russia wants to use Christmas as a cover to at least briefly halt the [Ukrainian army] offensive in Donbass and bring equipment, ammunition, and mobilized troops closer
- The US State Department said that Washington has little confidence in Russia’s Christmas ceasefire. It refused to specify whether the US recommended Ukraine not to cease fire in response to Russia’s announcement of a cease-fire, saying that Kiev would decide for itself.
Ukraine
The head of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine Yepifanii said that he would hold a Christmas service in the Dormition Cathedral (the main temple of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra). Ukraine will take back the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), it is a matter of time.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Danilov: If Germany does not hand over tanks, the Russians will reach Berlin. “If German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants the Germans to fight the Russians near Berlin with German tanks, he can continue his games,” Danilov said.
Western countries and their supporters
Former Belgian Prime Minister and member of the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt admitted the failure of the EU sanctions policy against Russia. “Nine sanctions packages and less than zero impact,” the European politician stated on his Twitter page. Verhofstadt, referring to actual trade data between Russia and the EU, expressed the opinion that the sanctions have only benefited Russia. According to the data, Russia increased its trade turnover with most EU countries.
A dispute over the post of deputy head of the UN Support Mission in Libya has broken out between the USA and the UK – the Libya Observer.
Macron during a telephone conversation promised Zelenskyy to deliver French AMX-10RC wheeled tanks to Ukraine in the near future – Reuters.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andrey Yermak confirmed on his Telegram channel that France will supply the Ukrainian army with Bastion armored vehicles. It is a French multi-purpose armored personnel carrier, also classified as an armored four-wheel drive army all-terrain vehicle.
In Romania, a train of 42 Turkish-made MRAP Kirpi was spotted heading toward Ukraine. The number of armored vehicles delivered by Western countries to Ukraine has already exceeded 3,000 units.
One of the Shahed-136 drones that was shot down in Ukraine contained components from more than a dozen US and Western companies, CNN reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence. According to the assessment, 40 of the 52 components were manufactured by 13 different U.S. companies. The remaining 12 components were manufactured in Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and China.
The new $2.85 billion military aid for Ukraine is the largest previously provided by the Pentagon. It includes 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, Humvee and MRAP special-purpose vehicles. In addition, it is planned to transfer significant amounts of missiles and ammunition to the Kiev regime – the Associated Press
Germany will supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers and a Patriot missile battery. The announcement came in a joint German-U.S. statement after Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with US President Joe Biden – the Associated Press.
The US administration continues to rule out sending even larger Abrams battle tanks [to Ukraine], which weigh 55 tons and rely on a turbine engine that guzzles fuel at a drastic rate, said a second senior administration official. They are also prone to breakdowns and require extensive maintenance expertise – The Washington Post.
Increased supplies of weapons to Ukraine will lead to peace, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg said according to the press service of NATO, “Weapons are – in fact – the way to peace.”
Australia announced it will boost its defense capabilities by spending more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($700 million) on new advanced missile and rocket systems, including U.S.-made HIMARS which have been successfully used by Ukraine’s military – the Associated Press.
