On Orthodox Christmas, Putin vows to back soldiers who 'defend' Russia
Putin vowed on the eve of Orthodox Christmas to back soldiers who «with arms in hands» defend Russia's interests, ordering his government greater support of those who fight and calling on his people to be merciful and just.
«Many of our men, our courageous, heroic guys, Russian warriors, even now, on this holiday, defend the interests of our country with arms in hand,» Putin said at a late Saturday meeting with families of Russian soldiers who have died in Ukraine.
Russia lunched its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022, in what Kyiv and its Western allies said was an unprovoked imperialistic land grab.
Nearly two years later, the war, which has killed thousands and displaced millions, has shifted to increased air strikes at each other's territories as both sides have struggled to make significant gains along the frontline.
State television footage showed the Russian leader attending with a small group of families of soldiers killed an intimate midnight service, known as the Divine Liturgy, later on Saturday at a chapel at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow.
There was no call from Putin this year for a ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the holiday, which many Orthodox Christians celebrate on Jan. 6-7 — as was the case a year ago.
Ukraine said on Saturday that a Russian missile strike killed 11 people and injured 10 in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, while a Russian-installed official accused Kyiv of shelling parts of Donetsk now under Moscow's control.
Putin, who is facing elections in March and has been softening his speeches to focus on traditional values and unity, ordered the whole of his government a
