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Russian President Vladimir Putin stood alone at a midnight service at a Kremlin church as he marked Orthodox Christmas darkened by Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.
Putin attended the service on the Cathedral of the Annunciation, initially designed as a church for the Russian tsars.
He stood alone as Orthodox clergymen in golden robes carried out a ceremony holding lengthy candles, photos launched by the Kremlin confirmed.
In earlier years Putin often attended Orthodox Christmas providers in Russian provinces or simply exterior Moscow.
The Russian Orthodox Church observes Christmas on January 7.
In a message launched by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin congratulated Orthodox Christians, saying the vacation impressed “good deeds and aspirations.”
He additionally praised the Orthodox Church, whose influential head Patriarch Kirill has absolutely backed Putin’s offensive in Ukraine.
Church organisations are “supporting our troopers collaborating in a particular navy operation,” Putin stated, utilizing the official Kremlin time period for the offensive in Ukraine.
“Such nice, multifaceted, really ascetic work deserves probably the most honest respect,” he added.
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Patriarch Kirill has known as on believers to help pro-Russian “brothers” throughout Moscow’s offensive in jap Ukraine.
In a sermon final 12 months, he stated that dying in Ukraine “washes away all sins”.
On February 24 final 12 months, Putin despatched troops to Ukraine, saying the man Orthodox Christian nation wanted to be “demilitarised.”
In current months, his military has suffered a sequence of navy setbacks on the bottom within the Western-backed nation.
Putin has unilaterally ordered his forces to pause assaults for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas.
However AFP journalists heard each outgoing and incoming shelling within the frontline metropolis of Bakhmut in jap Ukraine after the time when the Russian ceasefire was speculated to have begun.
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