Orthodox Easter Sunday in Ukraine and Russia as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed God “has the Ukrainian flag draped over his shoulders” and President Vladimir Putin attended a church service led by ardent supporters of Moscow’s invasion Worship has taken on a political tinge.
President Zelenskiy noted that Ukraine has been at war with Russia for 802 days and called on Ukrainians to pray for each other and the soldiers on the front lines. “And we believe, God carries on his shoulders a chevron with the Ukrainian flag,” the president, dressed in traditional Ukrainian embroidered clothes, said. Vishvanka Shirt and khaki pants. “So, with such allies, life will definitely triumph over death.”
Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend, but most Western churches celebrated this holiday on March 31st.
In Moscow, Putin attended an Easter service led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the country’s Orthodox Church, a supporter of the Russian president.
A video of the service shows Putin, dressed in a dark suit, crossing his body multiple times with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin during the service at Moscow’s gold-domed Cathedral of Christ the Savior. was reflected.
The Patriarch prayed for the protection of Russia’s “sacred borders” and expressed hope that God would stop the “internal conflict” between Russia and Ukraine, Tass state news agency reported.
Putin did not explicitly mention war or what Russia calls a “special military operation” in his Easter message. Instead, he thanked Kirill for “fruitful cooperation in the current difficult times, when it is very important to unite efforts for the steady development and strengthening of the Motherland.”
Under Mr. Kirill’s watch, the church cracked down on internal dissent, with one priest facing expulsion for refusing to ask God to lead Russia to victory over Ukraine, and another opposition leader who died. He faces suspension from his job for presiding over a memorial service at the grave of former Russian leader Alexei Navalny. At an arctic prison in February.
The somber and highly politicized ceremony took place amid a barrage of Russian drone fire that left at least six people injured, including a child, and officials say two Russian rocket attacks on eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region injured at least six people, including a child. It was announced that a person had died.
“Two people were killed and a house damaged in a rocket attack in Pokrovsk, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Donetsk, the capital of the region that Russia claims to have annexed,” Vadim Filashkin, governor of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said. said. he said in a Telegram post.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 24 Iranian-style Shahid drones into the territory overnight, and 23 of them were shot down. “Due to the ‘Shahed’ attack, a house and an outbuilding were burnt. Six people were injured, among them a girl born in 2015,” Kharkov governor Oleg Sinegubov said in a telegram.
Since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions more displaced. In both Russia and Ukraine, leaders have used religion and the church to try to rally society behind the war effort.
In a video message released Sunday from Kiev’s St. Sophia Cathedral (where religious symbols painted on ammunition boxes are on display), Zelensky, who is Jewish, urged Ukrainians to celebrate Easter in the trenches. He called on people to pray for the safe return of the soldiers. He also called on Ukrainians to pray for their land and people, saying their spirit “will not be broken” and that one day Ukraine will be liberated.
“Ukrainians kneel only when praying,” Zelenskiy said. “And there has never been an invader or occupier.”
With contributions from ReutersAssociated Press and Agence France-Presse
