MOSCOW, 07 January (EFE).- Russian President Vladimir Putin today congratulated Russians on Orthodox Christmas, the most important religious holiday in that country, after ordering a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine that expires at midnight.
Putin emphasized that Christmas promotes values such as “mercy, compassion, kindness and justice,” according to a Kremlin statement.
He also highlighted the “great contribution” made by Christianity, and in particular the Russian Orthodox Church, to the unity and harmony of Russian society, and praised his support for the soldiers taking part in the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The Russian leader last night attended midnight mass at Moscow’s Cathedral of the Annunciation, one of three that make up the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square.
Putin had not attended a Christmas mass in the Russian capital since 2001, when he attended the service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the most important in Russia.
A professing believer, he attended Mass at the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Saint Petersburg in 2019 and 2020, where he was baptized.
Vladimir Putin at the Annunciation Cathedral, this Friday in Moscow. EFE/EPO/Mikhael Klimentyev
Putin confessed a few years ago that he was secretly baptized by his father, a member of the former Soviet Union’s Communist Party, in Saint Petersburg, the city where he was born in 1952, a year before the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
At the request of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, the Kremlin chief ordered a ceasefire that came into effect at noon on January 6 and will end at midnight.
Both Ukrainian authorities and the Pentagon have accused Russian forces of violating their unilateral ceasefire, though Moscow says they only responded to enemy attacks.