Kiev reopens the Russian Orthodox church after the Kremlin-Simons-Petviashvili war
Due to the fact that many people in the Orthodox faith live in areas of the conflict zone, we request that the Ukrainian side observe a ceasefire and allow them to visit Christmas Eve services, as well as those on the day of the birth of Christ,” the statement said.
The Russian Orthodox Church had a rift with Orthodox believers that was widened by the announcement by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Moscow Orthodox Church severed its ties with the Constantinople patriarchy after becoming entwined with the Russian state under Putin.
Kirill has been a vocal supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and gave a sermon in September in which he said that “military duty washes away all sins.”
Ukrainian authorities have been stepping up raids on churches accused of ties to Moscow, and a ban on the Russian Orthodox Church is being threatened by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Norwegian Prime Minister are in Paris on Monday for dinner with the French President.
Also in France, on Tuesday, the country is set to co-host a conference with Ukraine in support of Ukrainians through the winter, with a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following Brittney Griner’s release from Russian prison, fans, friends and family are celebrating the basketball player’s return to the U.S. The Republican politicians are complaining about the POW swap and still being held by Russia.
The Russian Invasion of Crimea and Crimea: State of Ukraine (CNN Ukraine) from Dec. 5 – Follow-up with NPR
New measures targeting Russian oil revenue took effect Dec. 5. They include a price cap and a European Union embargo on most Russian oil imports and a Russian oil price cap.
Russia launched another bombardment of strikes on the energy grid of Ukraine, which caused many people to go without water and electricity. Five days later, Russian attacks left over a million people without power in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.
There are reports that a church is used as a Russian military base in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol. Officials said Ukrainian forces used long-range artillery to reach targets in the city in southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Russian forces turned the city of Bakhmut into burned ruins, Zelenskyy said. Fighting has been fierce there as Russia attempts to advance in the city in the eastern Donbas region.
President Zelenskyy had a call with President Biden on Dec. 11 in order to talk about the Russian invasion.
You can read past recaps here. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. NPR’s State of Ukraine is available for updates throughout the day.
How Putin declared a cease-fire over Orthodox Christmas in Ukraine declared by the US and its Defense Minister, Ned Price, and U.S. President Biden
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his country’s defense minister to order a temporary cease-fire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas.
“Keep hypocrisy to yourself,” Podolyak tweeted. The adviser said that Putin’s order was pure propaganda and that there was no desire to end the war. Especially, let me remind you, that only Russia attacks civilian targets with missiles/drones, including places of religious worship, and it does so precisely on Christmas holidays.”
Let’s allow the Orthodox believers to attend church on Christmas. They declare a truce and, at the same time, sit and reload their rockets. Boris Filatov is the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
US President Joe Biden was hesitant to respond to anything Putin said, he told reporters. I found it interesting. He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches on the 25th and New Year’s.”
Ned Price told reporters that the State Department was concerned that the Russians would use any temporary pause in fighting to rest, re- attack and regroup. And so in that sense, it can’t be considered a cease-fire if the intent is to train their fire with even more vengeance, with even more ferocity, with even more lethality against the people of Ukraine. If Russia is serious about peace, it would immediately withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine. That’s what ends this war.
The White House announced Thursday that the U.S. will send Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, and Germany will send Marder infantry fighting vehicles plus an additional Patriot air defense battery.
Putin’s “temporary” ceasefire: not a solution for the Syrian crisis in Ukraine, but a “clean” way to clean up Russia
In a call with Putin earlier in the day, Turkey’s President asked the Russian leader for a ceasefire to support efforts to end the war.
In response, Putin repeated Russian demands that Ukraine accept Moscow’s recent annexation of four regions of Ukraine before “serious dialogue” could begin, according to a Kremlin readout of the exchange.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak responded to Putin’s move by saying that Russia must leave “occupied territories” in Ukraine before any “temporary truce.”
Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, told Ukrainian television: “Regarding this truce – they just want to get some kind of a pause for a day or two, to pull even more reserves, bring some more ammo.”
During his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia aims to use Orthodox Christmas “as a cover” to resupply and stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price described it as “cynical” and that the US had “little faith in the intentions behind” Russia’s proposed ceasefire.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday also warned that the promise of a ceasefire would not bring “either freedom or security” to the people living under Moscow’s brutal war.
If Putin were interested in peace, he would let his soldiers go home. But apparently, he wants to continue the war after a short break,” she said in a tweet.
The full statement from the Kremlin was published on Thursday and it stated that the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation would be told to stop talking to each other for a period of time.
In the southern part of Kherson, Pavlo Skotarenko doesn’t expect much to change. They shell us every day, people die in Kherson. He said the temporary measure wouldn’t change anything.
A Ukrainian soldier spoke to CNN about the temporary ceasefire announcement as an attempt to clean up Russia’s image.
“I do not think that this is done for some military tactical purpose, one day will not solve much,” the Ukrainian soldier, who goes by the call sign Archer, told CNN by phone.
“Perhaps this is done to make the image of the whole of Russia a little more human, because so many atrocities are constantly emerging, and this could earn them few points of support from the people,” the soldier said.
The most modest celebrations in the capital were soured by Russian attacks during New Year, and Halyna Hladka said she thought the Russians wanted to win time.
Russia has shown its use of faith in various ways. And besides, in almost a year of war, Russia has not behaved itself as a country capable of adhering to promises,” she said.
Observation of the Bakhmut ceasefire at the beginning of the Great Schism of 1054, when Pope Gregory XIII decided to give birth to Jesus Christ
Orthodox Christians are estimated to number between 200 and 300 million people globally. Majority-Orthodox countries include Russia, Ukraine and Greece, whose churches are part of the Eastern Orthodox branch, which is also followed by the majority of Christians in the Middle East. Most of the significant Orthodox communities in Egypt and Ethiopia are members of the Oriental Orthodox branch.
Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 decided to standardize Christian holidays with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, which put the birth of Jesus Christ as December 25. The Orthodox Church split into its own branch of Christianity during the Great Schism of 1054, following years of increasing tensions over religious and political differences.
On Friday, the conflict in Ukraine continued after the proposed start time of the ceasefire at noon Moscow time (4 a.m. ET), as CNN teams observed incoming and outgoing artillery fire around Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine.