Ukraine changes Christmas date in break from Russian church; Zelenskyy visits troops: Updates
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law on Friday to move the country's official Christmas holiday to December 25, a move that further distances Ukraine from the Russian Orthodox Church, as Ukraine's fighters push to reclaim territory and some Western experts warned of a stalemate.
Unlike Roman Catholics who use the Gregorian calendar, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine previously celebrated holidays under the Julian calendar with the Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates Christmas on January 7. The purpose of the change is to serve as a "rejection of Russian heritage," according to an earlier draft version of the Ukrainian law.
Patriarch Kirill I, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine.
The law signed by Zelenskyy will also impact two other Ukrainian holidays.
Meanwhile, Russia's forces launched dozens of strikes on Saturday that caused civilian casualties and destroyed houses, top Ukrainian military leaders said. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russia launched air strikes and missile strikes at Ukrainian cities Saturday.
"The threat of missile and air strikes remains high across Ukraine," an update said.
Latest developments:
◾ Over 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the border with Poland, the Polish prime minister said Saturday.
◾ Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to participate in next week's Prague Open, the organizers of the women's tennis event said Friday.
◾ Olga Kharlan, a four-time Olympic medalist from Ukraine, on Thursday was disqualified after she refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent she had just defeated in a first-round contest.
Zelenskyy visits troops on military holiday
Ukraine's president visited troops near Bakhmut in the war-torn Donetsk region as the country celebrated Special Operations Forces Day on Saturday.
Zelenskyy visited the command post of tactical groups in "advanced positions," where photos posted to social media showed him presenting awards.
The people of Ukraine "know that all of you are very heroic, a lot depends on you, because you are always at the first battle line," Zelenskyy said, according to a news release.
He also tweeted about the anniversary of a strike on a prison in Russian-held Olenivka that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been captured after Mariupol fell last May. Ukraine and Russia both blamed each other for the attack, which Zelenskyy described as one of Russia’s “most vile and cruel crimes” in a video Saturday.
Weeks after dam blows up, Ukrainians struggle to access clean water
Seven weeks after a dam collapsed in a Russian-controlled area of Kherson province in southern Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainians are still struggling to access clean water and aid workers say the situation is dire.
Ukrainian health officials have detected cholera-like vibrio bacteria in the cities of Mykolaiv and in Odesa, key Black Sea port towns.
"The situation is devastating, especially in those settlements which have flooded, and that is why the humanitarian convoys are delivering as much (water and food) as possible," Dr. Jarno Habicht, the World Health Organization's Ukrainian representative, said.
Russia is targeting key grain infrastructure as part of its declared "retribution" for the attack on a critical 12-mile bridge that connects the occupied Crimean Peninsula with southern Russia.
‒ Terry Collins, USA TODAY
Russian investigators call children to testify against mother accused of discrediting army
A 9-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother have been called as witnesses in a criminal case against their mother after she was accused of repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian army.
Lidia Prudovskaya and her two children were summoned by investigators in the northern Russian region of Arkhangelsk on Friday to give testimony in the case, Russian news outlet Sota reported.
Prudovskaya previously faced administrative charges on similar allegations after sharing anti-war posts on Russian social media platform VKontakte in September 2022.
Discrediting the Russian military is a criminal offense under a law adopted after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The law is regularly used against Kremlin critics.
‒ Associated Press
Putin claims Ukraine's attack injured 20
The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by Ukraine in a "terror attack," including a missile in the city of Taganrog where 20 people were injured.
Local officials said the epicenter of the explosion was an art museum in Taganrog, about 24 miles east of the border with Ukraine. Debris fell on the city, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine's secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, blamed Russian air defense systems for the explosion.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy changes date of Christmas; visits troops
