Overview
- Ukrainian MP Alexey Goncharenko said the Cabinet approved President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decree to designate Jan. 7 as the Day of the Programmer.
- Bishop Gedeon (Haron) criticized the plan as an insult to Orthodox believers in comments reported by RIA Novosti.
- Ukraine legally recognizes Dec. 25 as Christmas under legislation Zelensky signed in July 2023.
- Patriarch Kirill issued formal Christmas greetings to church leaders who celebrate on Dec. 25, the Moscow Patriarchate’s external relations office said.
- Cologne police confirmed a masked man briefly performed near the altar during a Christmas service at the cathedral, with no injuries and no complaints reported.