Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine

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.”