Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin attended an Easter service in Moscow on April 20, simply hours after the Kremlin declared a brief ceasefire on the Easter weekend, ordering a halt to all navy motion from 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 till midnight on April 21.

The ceremony occurred on the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and was led by Patriarch Kirill, the top of the Russian Orthodox Church and a staunch supporter of each Putin and the struggle in Ukraine.

Regardless of the Kremlin’s claims of a vacation ceasefire, Ukraine reported ongoing Russian assaults on April 20. President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned that Russian forces carried out 387 shellings and 19 assault operations towards Ukraine between 6 p.m. and midnight. Russian forces used drones no less than 290 occasions, based on Zelensky.

A video of the service confirmed Putin standing beside Sobyanin, holding a skinny pink candle, and carrying a darkish swimsuit, white shirt, and pink tie—his conventional Easter apparel in earlier years. The service, a serious ritual for Orthodox Christians, started late Saturday and continued into the early hours of Sunday.

For Putin, the Orthodox religion performs a central function in his worldview, and he frequently attends providers throughout main spiritual holidays. Easter is taken into account a very powerful date on the Orthodox Christian calendar.

In response to the state-run RIA Novosti company, Patriarch Kirill used the chance to make a political and non secular attraction, calling for a "lasting and simply peace" in what he known as "the huge expanses of historic Rus," a medieval area encompassing elements of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.

Patriarch Kirill has been one of many struggle’s most vocal spiritual backers inside Russia. He has repeatedly defended the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth 12 months. Since February 2022, Russia’s invasion has killed tens of 1000’s—most of them Ukrainians—and displaced tens of millions from their houses.

What’s inside a Ukrainian Easter basket? The answer isn’t chocolate eggsFor the nearly two-thirds of Ukrainians who identify as Orthodox Christians, Easter is known as Velykden, meaning “Great Day” in Ukrainian. This year, it is celebrated on Sunday, April 20. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine calculates the date of Easter according to the revised Julian calendar. It fall…The Kyiv IndependentMia Billetdeaux