German public broadcaster ARD reported that Germany and the US will supply Ukraine with armoured personnel carriers.

According to a chancellery statement, the announcement came following a phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Germany will supply the Ukrainian armed forces with the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, developed more than 50 years ago for the German army, while the US will send Bradley combat tanks.

These are the first Western-style armoured personnel carriers to be received by Ukraine.

Germany has supplied Ukraine with weapons and military equipment worth €2.25 billion since the war began, including self-propelled howitzers (heavy artillery pieces), Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, and the Iris-T anti-aircraft system, which can protect an entire city.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Zelenskyy in a phone call that he would consider an invitation to visit Kyiv depending on “various circumstances”, but nothing had yet been decided.

Kishida also reaffirmed Tokyo’s full support for Ukraine.

“I strongly condemned Russia’s continued aggression, and stated that Japan would do its utmost to provide assistance, including to get through the winter, in order to protect the lives of the Ukrainian people,” Kishida told reporters.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference that the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, had extended an invitation via Tokyo’s ambassador to Kyiv for Kishida to visit Ukraine.

Kishida confirmed that he had received the invitation and said, “I would like to consider it based on various circumstances.”

As the ceasefire begins, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford says from Kyiv, “There’s huge scepticism here as we’ve heard from Zelenskyy over the real motivation for this unilateral ceasefire by the Russian president. Zelenskyy calls it a cover-up potentially giving Russian forces an opportunity to move more equipment to the front line.”

He added that despite the ceasefire, it is “highly unlikely” that Ukraine will change its game plan in terms of the conflict but that its refusal draws attention to Kyiv’s move away from the Russian Orthodox Church.

“Many people are saying this is just Vladimir Putin trying to get some sort of moral high ground across the Slavic-speaking and Orthodox Christian world,” he added.

The Pentagon says the world is deeply sceptical about Putin’s call for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine.

“I think that there’s significant scepticism both here in the US and around the world right now, given Russia’s long track record of propaganda, disinformation, and its relentless attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

“Our focus will continue to be on supporting Ukraine,” Ryder added.