In the midst of the Russian war of aggression, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a message to his compatriots on the occasion of the Orthodox Christmas celebration.

“This is a holiday of harmony and family unity.

And together we are all one big Ukrainian family," he said in a video released Friday night.

Several Orthodox churches traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

More than 300 days after the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian family is united as never before - "in their courage, their steadfastness, their mutual respect and their mutual help," said Zelenskyj, who is in the video in a festively decorated hall and a military green one wears a shirt with small armor embroidered on it.

Americans deliver 100 armored troop vehicles

Meanwhile, the United States promised further military aid to the attacked country.

It is the largest single package of this kind since the beginning of the war, according to Washington.

Germany, in turn, wants to deliver its promised Marder armored personnel carriers from the Bundeswehr stocks.

The American government is providing Ukraine with additional military aid worth billions to ward off the Russian war of aggression.

The package, valued at around $3 billion (2.8 billion euros), is said to include 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

The pack also includes 100 armored personnel carriers and mine-resistant vehicles, as well as 138 all-terrain vehicles known as the Humvee.

Ministry of Defense examines delivery of Bundeswehr armored personnel carriers

The Ministry of Defense is preparing to hand over armored personnel carriers from the Bundeswehr stocks.

According to information from the German Press Agency, a corresponding test was still running in the military department on Friday.

It was also examined how the goal of quickly handing over 40 armored personnel carriers can be achieved.

The Bundeswehr has a total of around 370 martens, many of which also have to be overhauled before use.

About half are considered operational.

Zelenskyy reiterated his gratitude for the new military aid.

"We managed to take Ukraine's strength and defense cooperation with partners to a new level," he said in his evening video address.

"From now on, Ukraine will have more anti-aircraft defenses, more armored vehicles, western tanks for the first time, more guns and missiles." not - like this time - about armored personnel carriers.

Russia: Drone attack on Crimea repelled

According to state information, the Russian air defense system repelled another drone attack on the Crimean Peninsula, which had been annexed by Moscow since 2014.

The unmanned flying object was shot down early on Saturday morning over a pier near Sevastopol, the naval base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the city's governor, Mikhail Rasvozhayev, wrote in his Telegram channel, according to the Tass state agency.

The port has been the target of Ukrainian drone attacks on several occasions, most recently on January 4 when two drones were shot down.

Russia supplies its occupying forces in southern Ukraine primarily through Crimea.

Ukraine is therefore repeatedly targeting logistical and military targets on the peninsula.

London wants to advance the investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and, together with the Netherlands, invited to an international meeting.

In March, justice ministers from around the world are to meet in London to organize financial and practical support for the work of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the British government announced.

What will be important on Saturday

In view of the orthodox Christmas celebrations, the second and last day of a ceasefire ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin officially begins, but it did not last on Friday.

Ukraine has dismissed the gesture as a propaganda ploy and hypocrisy, continuing its attempts at recapture.

Meanwhile, the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church wants to celebrate its Christmas mass in the famous Kiev Cave Monastery.

The usage contracts of the competing Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the two main churches of the monastery complex had not been extended at the end of the year.

The church had long been associated with the Moscow Patriarchate and only broke away from it after the Russian invasion at the end of February.