The Orthodox Church of Ukraine said Christmas can be moved to December 25, in another snub to Russia

• The Orthodox Church of Ukraine said Christmas can now be celebrated on December 25.

• It previously marked Christmas on January 7, alongside the Russian Orthodox Church.

• Russia's invasion has pushed many Ukrainian institutions to become more aligned with the West.

A Ukrainian Orthodox church said its churches can officially celebrate Christmas on December 25, another step increasing alignment with the West at the expense of Russia.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine announced that its assembly had voted in favor of letting parishes choose whether to mark Christmas on December 25.

That's a contrast with the church's traditional placing of Christmas on January 7, when many Orthodox churches celebrate, including Russia's.

The decision affects around 7,000 churches across Ukraine, The Guardian reported.

Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and has a centuries-long cultural overlap with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his invasion of the country this year on the baseless claim that Ukraine is not truly a separate country, but really a historical part of Russia.

Since the invasion, Ukrainian society has rejected many Russian-influenced aspects of its culture, and has sped up its alignment with the West, which has supported it with weapons and sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine's Orthodox Church alluded to this change in an October 18 statement, saying the decision came after "taking into account the numerous requests" and discussion that has been going on for many years within the church and society, while noting the impact of the war, CNN reported.

The decision was made by the church's synod last month, but was not widely reported until now.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is distinct from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with the latter maintaining ties to Moscow until recently, The Guardian noted.

Archbishop Yevstratiy Zoria, a spokesperson for the church, told The Guardian that the church would look at how many of the church's members celebrated on December 25 this year and then decide what to do in coming years. "We don't want to force anyone," he said.

He added that many churchgoers had already wanted to move the celebration to the Western date of December 25, but that desire had increased since the invasion began.

Russia's Orthodox Church has supported Russia's war in Ukraine, with its leader saying in September that dying against Ukraine is an act of "sacrifice" that absolves soldiers of their sins.

Ukraine had been increasingly aligning itself with the West. This has included applying to join the European Union and NATO, and tearing down Soviet-era monuments.

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