russia

Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops Thursday (Jan. 5) to recognize a 36-hour truce throughout Ukraine during the Orthodox Christmas holiday weekend.

Ukrainians usually celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, as do the Russians. But not this year, or at least not all of them.

Pope Francis called Wednesday for a “humble” Christmas this year, with savings from reduced spending on gifts donated to help the “suffering people of Ukraine.”

Russia has lodged a formal protest with the Vatican over Pope Francis’ latest condemnation of atrocities in Ukraine.

With winter approaching at this point in the war in Ukraine, temperatures in the country are already dipping into the teens. As recently as last month, Russia had already destroyed 30 percent of Ukraine’s electrical power grid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has included increased violence against religious leaders and widespread attacks on religious sites, according to a recently issued report.

At an interreligious event at Rome’s Colosseum, Pope Francis made an impassioned appeal for peace and the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons as the Russian war in Ukraine risks escalating to catastrophic heights.

The acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches met this week with Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Church head who has drawn global criticism for lending spiritual support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.