Overview
- The Kremlin said Putin attended a midnight service with servicemen and their families at the Church of St. George the Victorious in the Moscow region.
- According to a Kremlin transcript, he called Russian soldiers defenders on a “holy mission,” likening their role to a divinely entrusted duty.
- Analysis by Russian outlet Agentstvo, reported by Ukrainska Pravda, placed the church inside the GRU’s Senezh base that hosts unit 92154, with senior officers Aleksei Galkin, Andrei Popov and Konstantin Maslyanko visible at the service.
- Kremlin-allied senator Dmitry Rogozin derided UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and warned that any move to send allied troops to Ukraine could invite Russian missile strikes on Britain.
- Reports described new strikes injuring civilians in Ukraine and a retaliatory blaze at a Russian oil facility in Stary Oskol, while European investigations continue to examine alleged GRU links to sabotage, including railway attacks in Poland.