Surrounded by internal criticism of his defeats in Ukraine, the Russian did not want to expose himself to public controversy
The President of Russia, Wladimir PutinHe attended a religious mass alone at midnight on Friday at a church in the Kremlin to celebrate orthodox christmasmarked by the Moscow offensive in Ukraine.
Putin attends the Christmas service at the Annunciation Cathedral at the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 (AP)
The Russian President continued the celebration in Cathedral of the Annunciation, originally intended as a church for the Tsars, officiated by priests, some holding chandeliers, according to images released by the Kremlin. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7th.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar (AP)
In earlier years, Putin used to attend the religious ceremony marking Orthodox Christmas in the Russian provinces or on the outskirts of Moscow. This time however He decided to do this in complete solitude within the walls of the Kremlin fortress, cornered by criticism and fear of facing public confrontations.
Putin celebrated alone amid strong internal criticism (AP)
Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have called for the punishment of military commanders they accuse of ignoring the dangers amid outrage over the deaths of at least dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks of the war in Ukraine.
The Annunciation Cathedral, originally intended as the Tsar’s Church, is located in the Kremlin (AP)
So said the Russian Defense Ministry in a rare disclosure 63 soldiers died on New Year’s Eve in an explosion that destroyed makeshift barracks at a training school in MakiivkaSister city of the state capital Donetsk Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Kyiv, in turn, claimed that the Russian death toll in Makiivka was in the hundreds, although pro-Russian regional authorities called it an exaggeration.
That’s what Russian critics said The soldiers were housed next to an ammunition depotwhich, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was hit by four fired rockets US HIMARS systems. Russian military bloggers said the extent of the destruction was due to ammunition storage in the same building as the barracks, although military commanders knew it was within range of Ukrainian missiles.
“What happened in Makiivka is terrible,” wrote Archangel Spetznaz Z, a Russian military blogger with more than 700,000 followers on the messaging app Telegram.
“Who came up with the idea of placing personnel in large numbers in a building where even a fool understands that even if they hit artillery, there will be many injured or killed?“, wrote. To the commanders “they do not care“, he claimed.
Anger in Russia spilled over into its lawmakers.
Gregory KarasinMember of the Russian Senate and former deputy foreign minister, not only called for revenge on Ukraine and its NATO supporters, but also for “a rigorous internal analysis”.
Sergei MironovLegislator and former President of the Senate, Russia’s upper house, required criminal responsibility for the leaders who “allowed that Concentration of military personnel in an unprotected building‘ and for ‘any higher authority that has not provided the appropriate level of security’.
Unconfirmed images leaked online of the aftermath of the blast at Russia’s Makiivka barracks showed a massive building reduced to smoking rubble.
Hundreds of Russian recruits were gathered in the east of the country
Andrei Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Duma and a pro-Kremlin journalist, stated that the authorities, whether civil or military, must value the lives of Russians. “Or a person has the highest value – and then have to be punished for stupid personnel losses such as treason– or the country is finished,” Medvedev wrote in the messaging app Telegram.
In a message released by the Kremlin this Saturday, Putin congratulated Orthodox Christians, noting that this day inspires “good deeds and aspirations.”
He also noted that he had prayed for the Orthodox Church, whose spiritual leader, Patriarch Kirill, fully supported the offensive by Russian forces in Ukraine decided by Putin.
Church organizations “support our soldiers who are taking part in a special military operation,” the Russian president said, using the official Kremlin term for the offensive in Ukraine.
“Such an impressive, multifaceted and truly ascetic job deserves the sincerest respect,” he added.
Patriarch Kirill called on the faithful to support the pro-Russian “brothers” during the offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Since the start of the offensive in Ukraine on February 24, the patriarch has preached sermons blessing the Russian military while criticizing the Ukrainian authorities.
In a speech last year, he declared that dying in Ukraine “washes away all sins”.
Patriarch Kirill appealed to Moscow and Kyiv last Thursday to introduce a ceasefire in Ukraine on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. Shortly thereafter, Putin announced a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire.
But despite the unilateral ceasefire order, artillery battles continued Friday in Bakhmut, the focal point of the front in eastern Ukraine, as well as in other regions.
AFP journalists heard shots from both the Ukrainian and Russian sides after the ceasefire began in this city, although their intensity was lower compared to the days before.
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