January 6, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

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The Biden administration on Friday announced its largest drawdown yet in US military assistance to Ukraine, but there are lurking concerns that Republicans wielding newfound power in Washington could stand in the way of future aid – especially as chaos brews in the House.

The administration announced a new $2.85 billion drawdown for Ukraine, part of more than $3 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration would work with Congress to “to provide an additional $907 million of Foreign Military Financing under the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022.”

California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who served as House minority leader in the last session and is now pursuing the House speakership,?said in October that Republicans might pull back funding for Ukraine in 2023?if they took the majority in the 2022 midterm elections. Still, after making those comments the GOP leader worked behind the scenes to reassure national security leaders in his conference that he wasn’t planning to abandon Ukraine aid and was just calling for greater oversight of any federal dollars.

But there’s now concern that McCarthy’s troubled bid for the speakership – a history-defying effort that has led to more than a dozen unsuccessful votes this week – could put further limitations on Ukraine aid.

Two of the Republicans who had opposed McCarthy until Friday afternoon – Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and Texas Rep. Chip Roy –?had called on the House to change leadership and debate rules over Ukraine aid. Other Ukraine aid skeptics have continued to oppose McCarthy’s bid.

Several Republican members who switched their votes to support McCarthy on Friday said they are encouraged by a framework of an agreement, but provided no specifics about the deal and said talks are ongoing.

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The US will start training Ukrainian forces on the Patriot missile system later this month, according to the Defense Department.

Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia,?Ukraine, and Eurasia, said the training will take “several months.”

On Thursday the Pentagon said the US is considering bringing Ukrainians to the US to train on the?Patriot?missile system, as well as considering?training?overseas “or a combination of both,” according to a Defense Department spokesperson.

“I think clearly we’re at a point in this battle where we’re going to be able to provide that kind of?training?to enable?Ukraine?to sustain those kind of systems so that they can focus on defending their country and taking back territory,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing Thursday.?

On the day that Russian President Vladimir?Putin ordered a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire would begin in Ukraine to observe Orthodox Christmas, the Ukrainian military reported a Russian missile strike and 12 attacks from multiple rocket launchers.

CNN is unable to verify the Ukrainian claims on attacks.

Catch up on other key developments:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during an event in Washington, DC, on January 4.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday announced a new $2.85 billion drawdown in military assistance to Ukraine, which will include “Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, armored personnel carriers, surface-to-air missiles, ammunition, and other items to support Ukraine as it bravely defends its people, its sovereignty, and its territorial integrity.”

The top US diplomat said the administration would work with Congress “to provide an additional $907 million of Foreign Military Financing under the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022.”

“Funds will support Ukraine and countries impacted by Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?took to Twitter to welcome “the all-time US defense aid package.”?

On the day that Russia said a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire would begin in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military reported a Russian missile strike and 12 attacks from multiple rocket launchers.

In its situational update Friday evening local time, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the attacks included hits on civilian infrastructure in the eastern Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

The General Staff did not provide timings for the attacks. Russia said its so-called ceasefire would begin at noon local time (4 a.m. ET) Friday.

The General Staff said in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions, “the areas of 19 settlements came under enemy fire,” and in the Bakhmut direction, more than 15 settlements were hit.

Other impacted areas: It also listed shelling in the Avdiivka, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions.

Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, said that during “three hours of Putin’s ‘Christmas truce’” Russian forces fired on his region 14 times from artillery and assaulted one settlement three times.?

“People in de-occupied villages have been staying in basements all day,” he added on Telegram.

CNN is unable to verify the Ukrainian claims on attacks.

The German government will continue with its unwavering support for Ukraine in 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call Friday, a government spokesperson said.

”In 2022, the German government provided bilateral support to Ukraine of more than €12 billion ($12.7 billion) and would continue this course in 2023,” a statement from spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said.

Both political leaders ”exchanged views on the political, military and humanitarian situation in Ukraine,” Hebestreit said.

The Ukrainian president briefed the German chancellor on the latest attacks carried out by the Russian military on critical infrastructure and ”thanked the German government for its decision to provide Ukraine with a Patriot anti-aircraft missile battery and Marder infantry fighting vehicles.”

The statement said that Scholz and Zelensky agreed to speak together again, ”also with a view to the Ukrainian proposals for a peace settlement, and to remain in close contact.”

Zelensky also posted about the exchange on Telegram, sharing an image of him talking on the phone.

US Senators Jack Reed, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Angus King attend a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on January 6.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?met with?Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services Jack Reed and a member of this Committee, Sen. Angus King,?in Kyiv on Friday.

During the meeting, Zelensky said he views the Russian proposal of a 36-hour “ceasefire” as a “manipulation by which the aggressor tries to hide its true military plans and intentions.”

Following the meeting in a briefing to journalists, Reed said he told Zelensky his and his country’s sacrifice has inspired the world and “that they are fighting the fight for all of us”.

He said President Joe Biden’s announcement of additional military support, such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicles, will give Ukrainian forces “the ability to break through front lines, exploit that breakthrough and go on – we hope to – eject the Russians from Ukrainian territory”.

Asked by CNN’s Scott McLean if sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles will open the door to the US sending M-1 Abrams tanks, Reed said there is no connection.

He said he is always concerned about US stockpiles of weapons and equipment and that goes into the Pentagon decisions on what to send, in response to a question from CNN.

King said they had an “extraordinary day” in Kyiv, as he remarked on the “courage, commitment… and grit” of the Ukrainian people.

He said they were visiting because “this is a fight for us, for all the world, for the values of freedom and democracy – and that is why this commitment is necessary.”

Asked what else the United States will send Ukraine to end the war this year, King said America will continue to support Ukraine and after meeting with officials in Kyiv they had “walked out with a list.”

Reed said he had been “inspired” to “expedite the assistance that Ukraine needs to finish this fight.”

He said the US had made a huge commitment and to expect a further announcement soon. King said training on the?Patriot?defense?missile?system being sent to Ukraine “will begin shortly” but the length of training is classified.?

Drones?are seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in?Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28.

The US Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on officials tied to an Iranian defense manufacturer that designs and produces unmanned aerial vehicles, which have been used in the war in Ukraine, as well as the director of “the key organization responsible for overseeing Iran’s ballistic missile programs.”

The new US sanctions hit “six executives and board members of U.S. designated Qods Aviation Industries” and the director of Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization, according to a Treasury press release.

“We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deny Putin the weapons that he is using to wage his barbaric and unprovoked war on Ukraine,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement.?

CNN has reported how,?according to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment,?parts made by more than a dozen US and Western companies were found inside a single Iranian Shahed-136 drone downed in Ukraine last fall.

In December, the White House created an administration-wide task force to investigate how US and Western-made technology – ranging from smaller equipment like semiconductors and GPS modules to larger parts like engines – has ended up in Iranian drones.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.

Reconditioned Marder infantry fighting vehicles on display at Rheinmetall's Unterluess plant on July 14 in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Germany plans to deliver around 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in the first three months of the new year, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Friday.

”We want to equip a battalion.?A battalion consists of around 40 (Marder infantry fighting) vehicles — depending on their design. We plan to hand over 40?Marders?to Ukraine in the first quarter,” Hebestreit said.

In addition to armored Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Germany also vowed to supply Ukraine with?a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system from army stocks —?also to be delivered to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2023, Hebestreit said.?

What we know about the Marder infantry vehicle: The Marder is designed to move soldiers around the battlefield. It has been used by the German military since the early 1970s but continuously upgraded. The military is in the process of phasing it out, but hundreds are still in service.

Training on the Marder vehicle is to take place on German soil, Hebestreit said, adding that it will last about eight weeks.?

Hebestreit said that the US will also train Ukrainians on its Bradley infantry?fighting vehicle, but added that it is not yet known whether the training will take place in the US or in?Germany.

Hebestreit said that German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are set to hold a phone call on Friday.

Russia has condemned the move: The Russian Embassy in Berlin slammed Germany’s decision to send the vehicles and Patriot battery, issuing a statement that called the move a “further step towards an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.”

The embassy tied its criticism to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unilateral ceasefire order this week, which Ukraine has dismissed as a ploy to buy time for resupply.

“Its adoption looks particularly cynical on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas holiday, which is highly revered in the Christian world, and also against the background of the ceasefire unilaterally declared by the Russian President,” the embassy statement reads.

The Russian officials also claimed the move was the result of undue US influence, saying there was “no doubt that Berlin decided to carry it out under serious pressure from Washington, acting in accordance with the destructive logic of transatlantic solidarity.”

A firefighter stands at a burning house hit by the Russian shelling in Kherson, Ukraine, on the Orthodox Christmas Eve, January 6.

Ukraine has said that Kramatorsk?and Kherson were shelled ahead of the unilateral Russian Christmas ceasefire on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine from Friday until Saturday but the move was rejected by Kyiv and dismissed as “hypocrisy.” The US has also expressed skepticism about Putin’s intentions.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidency of Ukraine, said on Telegram that in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, “occupants hit the city twice with rockets. A private residential building was hit.”

In a separate post, before the unilateral ceasefire went into place, “at least 4 explosions were recorded” in Kherson, southern Ukraine. “A house in the private sector was burning next to the shelled fire station.”

He added that there were dead and wounded in Kherson, but did not provide a number.

Moscow’s unilateral ceasefire was meant to go into effect from 12 p.m. (4 a.m. ET) Friday until midnight (9 p.m. ET) Saturday.?

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire is “likely an information operation intended to damage Ukraine’s reputation,” according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The unilateral ceasefire from 12 p.m. (4 a.m. ET) Friday until midnight (9 p.m. ET) Saturday was not agreed to by Kyiv, and has been dismissed by Ukraine and the US as a cynical ploy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also accused Moscow of seeking to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

“Putin cannot reasonably expect Ukraine to meet the terms of this suddenly declared ceasefire and may have called for the ceasefire to frame Ukraine as unaccommodating and unwilling to take the necessary steps towards negotiations,” the ISW noted.

The ISW added: “Suddenly announcing a ceasefire with Ukraine that should have been negotiated well in advance in observance of Russian Orthodox Christmas will allow Russia to frame Ukraine as infringing on the right of believers to celebrate the holiday as hostilities will likely continue into January 6 and 7.”

This, the ISW said, would allow Moscow to support the “baseless” narrative that Ukraine is persecuting Orthodox Christians and Russian speakers, which Putin has used to justify his illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense on Friday blamed Ukraine for continuing shelling despite Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a unilateral ceasefire. Kyiv did not agree to the ceasefire, and has decried it as a cynical ploy.

Putin ordered a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine from Friday until Saturday but the move was rejected by Kyiv and dismissed as “hypocrisy.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of seeking to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region. And US President Joe Biden expressed skepticism on Thursday, telling reporters that he was “reluctant to respond anything Putin says.”?

“Despite the fact that today, January 6, from 12:00 Moscow time, the Russian troops were observing the ceasefire regime, the Kyiv regime continued shelling settlements and positions of Russian troops,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.

“In the Krasno-Limansky direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out four mortar attacks on Russian positions. In the area of the settlement of Belogorovka, Lugansk People’s Republic, three artillery attacks,” the ministry added.

Russia Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov speaks during a World Affairs event at the Fairmont Hotel on November 29, 2017 in San Francisco, California.

Russia’s ambassador to the United States has criticized Washington for its reaction to Moscow’s proposal for a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine. The ceasefire, which began at noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET), has been dismissed as a cynical ploy by both Ukraine and the US.

“Even the unilaterally declared ceasefire by the Russian Federation along the entire line of contact in Ukraine during Orthodox Christmas was labeled as an attempt to ‘take a breather.’?

Some context: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of seeking to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

US President Joe Biden expressed similar concern Thursday, telling reporters that he was “reluctant to respond anything Putin says.”

“I found it interesting. He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches on the 25th and New Year’s,” Biden continued. “I mean, I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”

Moscow accuses Washington of prolonging war: On Friday, Antonov blamed Washington for wanting to prolong the conflict by supplying a new military aid package to Kyiv, which will include American Bradley fighting vehicles.

“The actions of the Administration spur Ukrainian radicals to proceed with their terrible deeds. With every consecutive transfer of arms their feeling of impunity grows stronger. They continue to kill civilians in Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of the Russian Federation in an extremely cynical way,” Antonov claimed.

“Even more remarkably, the Administration revealed the abovementioned decision after a phone conversation between President Biden and German Chancellor Scholz,” he said. “In view of close ties between Washington and Berlin it becomes clear that the West under US leadership simply deceived our country and started to purposefully weaken Russia much earlier than February 24, 2022,” Antonov claimed.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he told Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would consider visiting Kyiv depending on “various circumstances,” but nothing had yet been decided.

“The Ukrainian government has invited key government officials from major countries to visit Kyiv, and I have received an invitation as well,” Kishda told reporters on Friday, making reference to a phone call he had with Zelensky.

“At this point, nothing has been decided, but I will consider it by taking into account various circumstances.”

Kishida also pledged Japan’s support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia as Japan plays an “active role” as the chair of the G7 and strongly condemned Russia for its continuous attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister?Iryna?Vereshchuk gives an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 11.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has urged people in occupied territories not to attend church services because of “terrorist attacks in churches.”

Iryna Vereshchuk said that Ukraine has received information and urged citizens to “be careful and if possible refrain from visiting places with large crowds.”

CNN cannot verify the claims, nor did Vereshchuk offer any evidence.

The head of the Luhansk regional military administration has also urged locals to refrain from attending Orthodox Christmas services in churches following the unilateral Russian ceasefire announcement, which began at noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET).

Serhiy Hayday called the truce “another lie and trap.”

Some context: Russian President?Vladimir Putin announced a 36-hour temporary ceasefire – in place from noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET) Friday until midnight (9 p.m. ET) Saturday – to coincide with Orthodox Christmas, but it has been dismissed by both Kyiv and Washington as a cynical ploy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of seeking to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

CNN has observed incoming and outgoing artillery fire around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut since the start of the unilateral Russian ceasefire.

Elsewhere, sirens in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv are sounding, according to CNN’s teams in the country.

Russian President?Vladimir Putin has called the 36-hour temporary ceasefire – in place from noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET) Friday until midnight (9 p.m. ET) Saturday – to coincide with Orthodox Christmas.

It has been dismissed by both Kyiv and Washington as a cynical ploy, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Moscow of seeking to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

The head of the Luhansk regional military administration has urged locals to “refrain from attending Orthodox Christmas services in churches” following the unilateral Russian ceasefire announcement, which began at noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET).

Serhiy Hayday called the truce “another lie and trap.”

The ceasefire was initiated and announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, but not agreed to by Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and the US have dismissed it as a cynical ploy. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow wants to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers his nightly address from his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 5.

The unilateral 36-hour ceasefire proposal in Ukraine has begun, coming into effect at noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET).

Russian President?Vladimir Putin has called the temporary ceasefire – in place until midnight (9 p.m. ET) Saturday – to coincide with Orthodox Christmas.

Some important context: Kyiv has not agreed to the ceasefire, and both Ukraine and the US have dismissed it as a cynical ploy. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says Moscow wants to use the Orthodox Christmas holiday as “cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

During his nightly address on Thursday, Zelensky said:

Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, told Ukrainian television: “Regarding this truce – they just want to get some kind of a pause for a day or two, to pull even more reserves, bring some more ammo.”

“Russia cannot be trusted. Not a single word they say,” Hayday added.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden expressed skepticism on Thursday, telling reporters that he was “reluctant to respond anything Putin says. I found it interesting. He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches on the 25th and New Year’s.”

He continued: “I mean, I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”

A Marder infantry fighting vehicle of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, participates in the NATO Iron Wolf military exercises on October 26, in Pabrade, Lithuania.

Germany will provide Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles and?an additional Patriot air defense battery, German ambassador to the US Emily Haber said on Thursday.??

The Marder is an infantry fighting vehicle used by the German military since the early 1970s but continuously upgraded. While the German military is in the process of phasing the vehicle out, hundreds are still in service.??

An infantry fighting vehicle is a heavily armed armored vehicle used to move soldiers around the battlefield. It’s usually deployed together with main battle tanks.?

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Thursday hailed his government’s “logical” decision to send more military aid to Ukraine.??

The United States is considering bringing Ukrainians to the US to train on the Patriot missile system and training overseas “or a combination of both,” according to a Defense Department spokesperson.

The US announced last month that it is providing a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine “capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling than previously provided air defense systems,” according to a State Department spokesperson.

Russian President?Vladimir Putin?has ordered his defense minister to implement a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for 36 hours this week to allow Orthodox Christians to attend Christmas services, according to a Kremlin statement Thursday. But the proposal was swiftly dismissed as “hypocrisy” by Ukrainian officials.

Putin’s order came after the leader of the?Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, called for a ceasefire between Jan. 6 and Jan. 7, when many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas.

But Ukrainian officials voiced skepticism about the temporary ceasefire, saying Moscow just wanted a pause to gather reserves, equipment and ammunition.

During his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia aims to use Orthodox Christmas “as a cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.

Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, told Ukrainian television: “Regarding this truce – they just want to get some kind of a pause for a day or two, to pull even more reserves, bring some more ammo.”

“Russia cannot be trusted. Not a single word they say,” Haidai added.

Read more here.

Soldiers operate a Bradley M2A3 Fighting Vehicle during a live-fire exercise with Syrian democratic forces and coalition partners in Syria, on March 25.

The United States will supply Ukraine?with Bradley fighting vehicles?as part of a new security assistance package to the country as it nears the one-year?anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

The nearly $3 billion package is among the largest packages of military equipment sent from the Pentagon to Ukraine since the war began. It comes as Ukraine prepares for intensive fighting in the spring as the weather warms.

US President Joe Biden affirmed the new commitment in a telephone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday. Germany will also send Ukraine new fighting vehicles, along with a Patriot missile battery to protect against Russian air attacks.

The new security package comes as Russia intensifies its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited the White House last month, has called for additional assistance from Western nations to protect against Russian aggression. He said the support was not “charity” but “an investment in the global security and democracy.”

Read more here.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who positioned himself as a broker in the Russia-Ukraine conflict throughout 2022, held separate phone calls Thursday with both President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He told Zelensky that Turkey was ready to undertake a mediator and facilitator role for lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine and that it could provide diplomatic efforts regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a Turkish government readout of the call said.

In his call with Putin, Erdogan told the Russian leader that calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral declaration of ceasefire and a vision of “a fair solution.”

Putin, however, told Erdogan that Moscow is open to “serious dialogue,” but Kyiv must accept the “new territorial realities,” according to a Kremlin statement.?

Putin also emphasized “the destructive role of the West, pumping Ukraine with weapons and providing it with target designation,” the Kremlin said.?

The readout also mentioned that the two leaders discussed expanding ties in the energy sector and Putin also asked to lift barriers on Russian exports as part of the?Black Sea grain deal.

What Zelensky says:?Later on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Erdogan “discussed security cooperation” between their two countries and “nuclear safety issues, in particular the situation at ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station).”

“There should be no invaders there. We also talked about the exchange of prisoners of war with Turkish mediation, the development of the grain agreement. We appreciate Türkiye’s willingness to take part in the implementation of our Peace Formula,” Zelensky said?on Telegram, following a phone call between the two leaders.