Kyiv, Ukraine – On this Christmas Day, the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, Ukrainians attended church services and gathered with family and friends, determined to uphold cherished traditions despite the devastating war raging in their country.
In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky proclaimed that “all Ukrainians are together” on this holy day, having changed the date of Orthodox Christmas in a symbolic snub to Russia.
“We were told that to have any chance, we need to give up our independence, sovereignty, territory, language, faith,” Zelensky said. “But we have not lost ourselves. We endured. And we united with even greater faith in our people and God. And we preserved Ukraine.”
The somber Christmas holiday comes as Russia’s war against Ukraine is about to enter its 11th month. After failing to capture the capital Kyiv early on, Moscow has shifted its focus to battering Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and pressing an offensive in the eastern Donbas region.
In Kyiv, the majestic St. Sophia Cathedral rang its bells in celebration of Christmas Eve late Saturday, as hundreds gathered for a service. Darkness enveloped the cathedral, with only flickering candles and low light illuminating religious icons and those packed inside.
“I’m happy that we’ve gathered today despite the hardships and despite the air alerts, despite the war,” said Kateryna Stepanova, 64. “We need to pray and Ukrainians need support from above, support from God.”
But reminders of the brutal toll of the war were unavoidable. At an outdoor service in Kyiv, worshipers sang, clutched candles and prayed solemnly for those on the front lines defending Ukraine. Makeshift wooden crosses memorialized soldiers who perished.
On Christmas Eve near the battlefront in eastern Ukraine, soldiers traded comforts from home and tributes to lost comrades for the stark realities of war.
On the eve of Christmas, soldiers in Kupiansk on the eastern front lit a small tree decorated with bright baubles and an angel figurine, seemingly oblivious to thundering outgoing artillery targeting Russian positions. For them, the holidays marked another day at war.
Kremlin Foe Navalny Confirmed to Be at Penal Colony in Arctic Region
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been located at a maximum security penal colony in the remote northern Yamal-Nenets region, his team said Monday, after weeks of mystery over his whereabouts.
Navalny was abruptly transferred from his previous prison in November, and Russian authorities refused to disclose his new location to his family and lawyers. His chief of staff said Navalny’s attorney finally met with him on Monday.
“Alexei Navalny is indeed in the IK-6 penal colony in the village of Melekhovo near Kharp settlement” in the Yamal-Nenets region, his staff wrote on Twitter. “Hi to everyone from Alexei!”
Navalny, 46, is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic critic. He narrowly survived a poisoning with a nerve agent in 2020 that he blames on Putin’s security services. Russian authorities rejected the accusations and incarcerated Navalny last year, saying his long recovery abroad violated terms of a suspended sentence in an embezzlement case.
Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison in March on fraud and contempt of court charges he rejects as politically motivated. His anti-corruption campaigns and detailed investigations exposing official corruption have made him a thorn in the Kremlin’s side for a decade.
Transferring inmates between prisons is common practice in Russia, but Navalny’s family and lawyers criticized authorities for the secrecy surrounding his whereabouts for weeks and expressed concern over his health and safety.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday the Biden administration was “deeply concerned” after Navalny went incommunicado within Russia’s prison system. Blinken said Navalny should be released immediately.
Eurasian Economic Union Signs Free Trade Agreement With Iran
The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) signed a permanent free trade agreement with Iran on Monday, finalizing an interim deal in place since 2019.
The EAEU consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It aims to create a single market with free movement of goods, capital and labor between member states.
The bloc’s trade deal with Iran eliminates or reduces import duties on hundreds of goods traded between Iran and EAEU countries. It includes reductions on meat, agricultural products, processed foods, steel, vehicles and machinery.
For Iran, cementing economic ties with Russia and its allies provides crucial support as it faces crippling Western sanctions over its nuclear program. The U.S. has been unsuccessfully trying to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October.
Russia has vocally opposed the U.S. bid at the Security Council to prolong the Iranian arms embargo. Analysts say Moscow is eager to expand military cooperation and arms trade with Tehran once the ban expires.
The EAEU-Iran free trade zone underscores Russia’s efforts to build economic bonds across Eurasia and forge ties with nations opposed to U.S. policies. It comes as Moscow faces growing isolation from Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
Air Defenses Shoot Down 28 of 31 Iranian Drones Targeting Ukraine
Ukraine’s air force said Monday it had shot down 28 of 31 Iranian-made explosive drones launched by Russia against the country overnight.
The Shahed-136 drones took off from the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula to strike the southern Odesa region and other parts of Ukraine, the air force said. It claimed 17 drones were downed over Odesa and 11 others in southern Ukraine.
The drones caused damage to port infrastructure in Odesa but did not result in casualties, local authorities reported.
Russia has increasingly used the Iranian-designed Shahed drones that fly at low altitudes and speed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. The unmanned vehicles can carry a payload of explosives and strike targets with precision.
Analysts say Moscow’s reliance on the Iranian drones shows it is rapidly expending its stockpile of missiles in the grinding war. Ukraine has successfully developed tactics to intercept and destroy increasing numbers of the slow-moving drones using anti-aircraft missiles and gunfire.
Ukraine’s military reported separately that its air defenses shot down two Russian fighter jets and two missiles on Sunday. One jet was downed over Donetsk province in the east and another over the Black Sea, it said.
Russia Accuses West of Inciting Unrest After Serbia Election Protests
The Russian government on Monday accused Western nations of seeking to destabilize Serbia and undermine its ties with Moscow after violent street protests erupted over the results of recent elections.
For a second day, thousands of demonstrators skirmished with riot police and tried to storm government buildings in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Sunday. Opposition parties allege widespread fraud in elections on April 17 that were comfortably won by President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling party.
Vucic has cultivated close political and economic relations with Russia. Belgrade refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, while condemning the aggression at the United Nations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after Vucic’s election victory that it would strengthen the “partnership” between Serbia and Russia.
But Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the West is now attempting to undermine the pro-Russian leader by questioning the elections and stirring unrest. She told Russian news agencies the protests followed a “typical Western scenario” of fomenting political instability in nations allied with Moscow.
The allegations came as Serbia tries to balance its ambitions to join the European Union with its centuries-old religious, ethnic and political ties with Russia. The former Yugoslav republic depends almost entirely on Russia for natural gas supplies.
Analysts say mass economic discontent amplified claims of electoral fraud, and the pro-Western opposition is looking to capitalize on public anger at high inflation and cronyism under Vucic’s increasingly autocratic rule. The president denies the vote was rigged and accused the protesters of violence against police.
