(Moscow) The West is trying to “divide” Russia in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin condemned on Sunday, while the Kremlin’s military offensive lasted more than ten months, according to him, “the union of peoples” Russia”.
In Kiev, the Ukrainian Orthodox celebrated Christmas, a strong sign of opposition to Russian religious authorities who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in two weeks.
Photo by Renata Brito, Associated Press
Performers of the Kyiv Opera Theater presented the concert Christmas at the shelter December 24 on the Underground Stage.
“Everything is based on the policy of our geopolitical enemies, who aim to divide Russia, historical Russia,” Vladimir Putin denounced in an interview, a small portion of which was broadcast on Russian television on Sunday.
“‘Divide and conquer’: they always tried to do it, they are trying to do it now, but our objective is completely different: to unite the Russian people”, he scolded.
The Russian president has already justified military intervention in Ukraine on several occasions, citing the need to unite Ukrainians and Russians, who in his view would form a single people.
According to Vladimir Putin, the Russian military is “moving in the right direction” in Ukraine.
Mr. Putin condemned once again. [obtenir] Acceptable results.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has brushed aside the possibility of talks with Moscow in recent months, saying he does not want to start talks with Russia “as long as Putin is president”.
He also vowed to take back the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia at the end of September – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson – and the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
“100%” sure
This week, Volodymyr Zelensky left his US trip with a $45 billion subsidy provided in the next US federal budget and, above all, with the immediate delivery of the Patriot anti-aircraft defense system that Kiev had. They have been asking for weeks.
Vladimir Putin, in an extract of care that aired on Russian television on Sunday, nevertheless promised to remove this equipment from the battlefield.
“Surely we shall destroy it, [sûr] 100%! He began three days later, assuring that his army would find “an antidote” to counter “this old system.”
On the ground, a series of Russian strikes hit the city center of Kherson on Saturday, a city in southern Ukraine that was liberated from Moscow on November 11 after an eight-month occupation by troops.
Photo provided by Gerson Administrative Region via Associated Press
Cars burst into flames on December 24 when a Russian strike hit central Kherson.
Bombs were thrown into the Central Market and adjacent streets, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55 on Christmas Eve, in what Mr Zelensky called an act of “terror”.
Throughout the day, Russia fired 41 missiles at the city, according to the Ukrainian military’s morning report.
Vladimir Saldo, the head of the pro-Russian administration in Kherson, condemned the attack on the Ukrainian army as “a gross provocation aimed at blaming the armed forces of the Russian Federation”.
Christmas in Kiev
On Sunday, Ukraine’s capital Kiev celebrated Christmas alongside Catholics, two weeks ahead of traditional Orthodox celebrations.
Photo by Valentin Okrenko, Reuters
December 24, an Orthodox service in Kiev
“The war has made us very sad,” Olga Stanko, a believer, told AFP at a downtown church. “We cannot remain under Russian influence,” he adds, adding that the military conflict has shifted to religious territory in recent weeks.
Ukraine, whose population is mostly Orthodox, is divided between a church that is de facto dependent on the Moscow Patriarchate — which announced it was severing ties with Russia at the end of May because of the Russian offensive — and an independent church under Russian oversight.
Formed in late 2018, the latter pledged allegiance to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, headquartered in Istanbul.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine poll conducted in November, 44% of Ukrainians approve of the idea of celebrating Christmas on December 25 instead of January 7, the Orthodox Christmas date.
During his traditional Christmas message in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Francis called for “silencing the guns” on Ukrainian soil.
“May the Lord prepare us for concrete gestures of solidarity to help the suffering, and enlighten the minds of those who are capable of silencing the guns, and bring an immediate end to this senseless war!” ” said the Sovereign Pontiff.
