With repentant eyes he appeared before God... Vladimir Putin lit the candle for peace in the Church of St. George the Victorious in Moscow, while the Orthodox Christmas service was held. The Russian president thus started the celebrations for this important holiday in his country.
In congratulating the nation, Putin defended the role of the Russian Orthodox Church by speaking of moral values and caring for one's neighbor, perhaps forgetting the war he launched against neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The Russian president then met with Patriarch Kirill, of whom he asked to bless the army chiefs.
"I want to ask you to bless these crosses and icons that I plan to give as a gift to all our commanders who are performing important tasks during the special military operation in defense of the homeland. I think they will be especially pleased to receive these symbols of faith, especially blessed by you during the Christmas service," Putin said.
As a miracle for this holiday came the agreement between Ukraine and Russia for the regular exchange of wounded or sick prisoners. However, the situation on the ground did not reflect the celebration. Kiev's forces confirmed that during the last few hours there have been more than 200 armed clashes with the Russian army. Much of the fighting has taken place on fronts such as Kursk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, with the latter locality claimed to be occupied by Putin's troops. But the Ukrainian army says that fierce fighting continues there. Ukraine's defense forces claim to have shot down 28 drones out of a total of 38 launched by Russia. (A2 Televizion)
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