Ukraine war news – live: Putin praises Russian Orthodox Church for supporting war

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Vladimir Putin has praised the Russian Orthodox Church for its 'massive, complex and truly selfless work' in supporting Moscow's forces fighting his war in Ukraine.

The Russian president was pictured alone at an Orthodox church in the Kremlin for a Christmas service this morning, which Russia's RIA news agency said was the first time in years he had celebrated in Moscow.

State television showed live footage of Putin inside the gilded Cathedral of the Annunciation as Orthodox priests conducted the midnight service, known as the Divine Liturgy.

Mr Putin's call for a temporary ceasefire appears to have had little impact, after widespread reports of infantry fighting, as well as artillery fire heard from the frontline. Air raid sirens have also rang out across the country, including the capital Kyiv.

The Russian president called for a 36-hour ceasefire from midday on Friday, after the head of the Russian Orthodox church, which uses the Julian calendar, suggested it to mark Christmas.

Britain's Ministry of Defence also reported that fighting has continued 'on a routine level' in eastern Ukraine.

Finland's defence minister, Mikko Savola, has announced the Finnish government is organising its '12th aid package' for the Ukrainian war effort.

Details of the contents of the aid package have not been agreed, but the minister remarked that any aid package would not jeopardise Finland's own defences.

Finland have supported Ukraine through EUR189.2m in funding for defence purposes, as well as EUR29m in additional development funds, aimed at improving energy security and education.

The country also joined NATO in July 2022 as a direct response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's general staff has updated its numbers of Russian troops which it believes to have killed since the invasion began.

Russian deaths are up to 110,740, following an additional 490 deaths recorded.

In its daily update, also posted on social media, Ukraine's general staff also recorded two tanks and three artillery systems destroyed.

Current numbers have not yet been independently verified and data collected by the Russian armed forces differ from that of Ukraine.

However, it is thought the number of recorded deaths in Russian records is far below the real number killed.

Vladimir Putin has praised the Russian Orthodox Church for its 'selfless' support for Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine.

The Kremlin issued the Russian president's message after he attended an Orthodox Christmas Eve service on his own inside a Kremlin cathedral – rather than joining other worshippers in a public celebration.

In his message, Mr Putin made clear that he saw the Russian Orthodox Church as an important stabilising force for society at a time he has cast as a historical clash between Russia and the West over Ukraine and other issues.

'It is deeply gratifying to note the enormous constructive contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations in unifying society, preserving our historical memory, educating youth and strengthening the institution of family,' said Mr Putin.

'Church organisations prioritise ... supporting our warriors taking part in the special military operation. Such massive, complex and truly selfless work deserves sincere respect.'

President Vladimir Putin has praised the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting Russian forces fighting in Ukraine in an Orthodox Christmas message

Putin's message came after the Russian leader attended an Orthodox Christmas Eve service alone inside a Kremlin cathedral rather than joining other worshippers in public celebrations.

In his message, Putin made it clear he saw the Russian Orthodox Church as an important stabilising force for society at a time he has cast as a historical clash between Russia and the West.

Putin said, 'It is deeply gratifying to note the enormous constructive contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations in unifying society, preserving our historical memory, educating youth and strengthening the institution of family.'

'Church organisations prioritise ... supporting our warriors taking part in the special military operation (in Ukraine). Such massive, complex and truly selfless work deserves sincere respect.'

The Russian defence ministry has responded to claims of its own forces breaching its self-declared ceasefire with allegations of Ukrainian forces shelling civilian areas.

Kyiv has not responded to these latest allegations. Ukrainian forces refused to recognise the Russian ceasefire, calling it 'a banal trick'.

Accounts of artillery fire and fighting have been widely reported through the Christmas ‘ceasefire', including across positions in Donetsk, Luhansk and in the southern region of Kherson.

Air raid sirens have also been sounding across Ukraine, including in the capital Kyiv.

In its daily briefing, the Russian defence ministry said its troops had only returned artillery fire when fired upon by Ukrainian forces.

Governor for the eastern Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on Telegram that two civilians were killed in Bakhmut and the nearby town of Krasna Hora on Friday.

Seven others have been wounded, he added.

US armed forces will begin training Ukrainian forces on the Patriot missile system later this month, says the US Defense Department.

Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia told CNN that training Ukrainian forces will take ‘several months'.

The Pentagon also told reporters that the US is considering bringing Ukrainians to the US to train on the Patriot missile system, as well as considering training overseas 'or a combination of both'.

Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday, 'I think clearly we're at a point in this battle where we're going to be able to provide that kind of training to enable Ukraine to sustain those kind of systems so that they can focus on defending their country and taking back territory.'

The US has committed to sending armoured vehicles, including 50 tank-killing Bradleys, to Ukraine after long-standing appeals from the Ukrainian president Zelensky.

Services marking Orthodox Christmas have begun in Ukraine in the first celebrations to take place since Russia's invasion.

A service performed by Metropolitan Epiphanius of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine took place at the Holy Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

Other religious services will take place across the country.

The celebrations take place as long-running tensions between Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches grew following the Russian invasion in 2022.

Costs of hiring ships to transport goods and commodities have risen by ‘more than a fifth', since new year, according to insurance industry sources.

With the new year renewing insurance policies, many reinsurers have revoked financial protection for shipping and transport companies operating in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

The Black Sea is a vital region for shipping grain, oil and oil products, as well as naval presence, with Russia's Black Sea fleet based in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea.

Six insurance sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said reinsurers leaving the market had added to ‘unease' over the risk of ship seizures by Russia and liabilities related to the war in Ukraine.

'The effect of [the exit of reinsurers] is reducing [underwriting] capacity in the market for war risk and will mean people will pay more this year,' said one marine insurance source.

Ukraine's energy grid operator has issued an appeal to civilians to conserve electricity, amid dropping temperatures.

Strained by persistent Russian attacks on infrastructure, grid operator Ukrenergo warned 'a significant drop in temperature is expected, which will lead to a rapid increase in consumption.'

In a statement posted on Telegram, Ukrenergo said 'The energy system is currently unable to fully cover it due to the damage and the enemy's occupation of a number of power plants that produce electricity, in particular, and the most powerful - the Zaporizhzhia NPP (nuclear power plant).'

Cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, are experiencing regular blackouts to reduce strain on the electrical grid during peak hours.

Ukrenergo said it was working with electricity providers to repair any damages on the grid but urged patience due to the complexity and scale of the damage.

Ukrainian refugees in the UK are being housed in hotels and temporary accommodation, with a 'growing number' made homeless, say councils.

Our colleague Holly Bancroft reports that nearly 3,000 Ukrainian households have been registered as homeless to English councils since the end of February 2022.

Opora, a charity helping Ukrainian refugees settle in the UK, has also warned the numbers could be much higher.

Executive director of charity Refugees at Home, Lauren Scott MBE, said: 'People opened their doors under Homes for Ukraine in 2022 as an alternative to housing refugees in hotels. But with no proper move-on strategy in place that's exactly where many Ukrainians may end up in 2023.'

A government spokesperson said: 'Homes for Ukraine has seen 109,000 Ukrainians welcomed to the UK, thanks to the generosity of sponsors, with most settling in well.

Read more here:

Thousands of Ukrainian refugees living in hotels as councils struggle to house them

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday attended an Orthodox Church Christmas service alone, inside a Kremlin cathedral, rather than joining other worshippers in public celebrations.

Russia's RIA news agency said it was the first time in years the president had celebrated Christmas in Moscow rather than in events held around the capital.

State television showed live footage of Putin inside the gilded Cathedral of the Annunciation as Orthodox priests conducted the midnight service, known as the Divine Liturgy.

Putin celebrated Easter last year at the cathedral with thousands of others, but attended Christmas by himself last year in his official residence outside Moscow.

The Russian Orthodox Church backs the war in Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on Thursday appealed for both sides to observe a 36-hour Christmas truce that Putin had subsequently announced.

The Russian-installed governor of the Crimean city of Sevastopol has said that local air defences had shot down a drone in what he suggested was the latest Ukrainian attack on a port where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based.

Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-backed governor of the city, made the allegation on Telegram, alleging that the incident had occurred in the early hours of Saturday, falling within Orthodox Christmas.

There has been no immediate comment on the allegation from Ukraine, which has previously not confirmed similar alleged incidents in the past.

Russian president Vladimir Putin's proposed temporary truce to coincide with Orthodox Christmas has been rejected by Kyiv as a cynical ruse to buy time for Russian forces to rest and regroup.

The deputy head of the President Zelensky's office also told reporters of Russian forces attacking a fire station in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson in an attack which cause several casualties.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko said in response to the Kherson attack, 'They talk about a ceasefire. This is who we are at war with.'

Russia's defence ministry has maintained it was respecting its unilateral ceasefire and accused Ukraine's forces of continued shelling.

Russian forces withdrew from the port city in November, following brutal fighting and artillery shelling, which sparked celebrations across the country.

Our colleagues Inna Varenytsia and Jamey Keaten reported on the aftermath of Kherson's liberation in December.

Read more here:

Free for a month, Kherson still toils to clear Russian traps

Fumio Kishida, prime minster of Japan, is considering a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, says cabinet secretary.

Any decision to visit Kyiv would be weighed on 'various circumstances', as stated by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.

The head of President Zelensky's presidential office extended an invitation to prime minister Kishida via the country's ambassador to Japan.

Kishida also held a phone call with president Zelensky on Friday, reaffirming Japan's support for Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression.

In a statement to reporters, Kishida said 'I strongly condemned Russia's continued aggression, and stated that Japan would do its utmost to provide assistance, including to get through the winter, in order to protect the lives of the Ukrainian people.'

Fighting in Ukraine is continuing to take place over the Orthodox Christmas period, the MoD has reported in its daily intelligence report.

Major fighting is said to be centring on the town of Kremina, in Luhansk Oblast.

The MoD has suggested that Russian generals will ‘highly likely' consider this fighting around Kremina as a 'threat to the right flank of their Bakhmut sector, which they see as key for enabling any future advance to occupy the remainder of Donetsk Oblast.'

Intelligence has also suggested that combat has resorted to 'dismounted infantry fighting, often at short range' due to 'coniferous woodland providing some cover from air observation even in winter.'

'Both sides are highly likely struggling to accurately adjust artillery fire,' says the minister update.

The Ukrainian government has taken the main cathedral of the revered historic monastery from the church previously affiliated with Moscow‘s patriarchate and allowed its Ukrainian rival to use it for Orthodox Christmas services.

The move comes as the long-running tensions between the two churches exacerbated amid Russia‘s war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian minister of culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Thursday that the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church of the nearly 1,000-year-old Pechersk Lavra — also known as Monastery of the Caves — in the Ukrainian capital have been taken over by the state after the lease of them held by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) expired on 31 December.

More in this report:

Ukraine reclaims Kyiv cathedral amid church dispute

President Vladimir Putin's aim of seizing Ukrainian territory has not changed, but Russian forces continue to suffer from military weaknesses including the amount of troops they have, the Pentagon said yesterday, as Washington hopes the latest record weapons package for Kyiv will help Ukraine retake territory occupied by Russia.

'Putin has not given up his aims of dominating Ukraine and continuing to acquire Ukraine's territory,' said Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense focusing on Russia and Ukraine.

'But the reality of Russian weaknesses, the Russian armed forces weaknesses has collided with those aims,' Ms Cooper said, adding that Russian troops also suffer from low morale.

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