Vladimir Putin took part in a prayer ‘for granting victory to the Russian army’ at the sacred Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam monastery, appearing to limp as he walked into the church.
Video shows the warmongering leader with Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko as they took part in the prayer.
The two dictators were at the sacred Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam monastery on Lake Ladoga in Russia’s Karelia republic, close to a Putin palace.
The Russian President appeared to limp as he walked into the church.‌
A plain clothed aide was close by with a black bag – either an unfolding bullet-proof shield to throw over the dictator if an assassin seeks to shoot him, or his nuclear briefcase to trigger an atomic attack on the West.
The religious ceremony came after a Putin missile attack led to major damage to the historic Transfiguration Cathedral in Ukrainian port Odessa.
It also followed US confirmation that Putin has transferred Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
An Orthodox priest is heard incanting in front of Putin and Lukashenko: ‘We pray for the granting of victory to our Christ-loving leaders and our army over the enemy.
‘We pray, all-gifted Lord, hear us soon and have mercy on us. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.’
Putin and Lukashenko a day earlier visited the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral, the main temple of the Russian Navy, where they touched the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
‌Putin had calculated in February 2022 that he would storm Kyiv in a few days and easily subjugate Ukraine, crashing Western influence on the country.‌
Instead he is now in his 18th month of a war that has seen a quarter of a million Russians killed or maimed, according to estimates.‌
In a new blow to Putin, it was revealed today that he had lost yet another prominent commander in the war. Colonel Yevgeny Vashunin led the Leningrad regiment, composed mainly of mobilised men from Putin’s home city St Petersburg.
‌Vashunin, 47, was ‘mortally wounded’ on 14 July and his death has now been announced. Putin is to award him a posthumous Hero of Russia medal, the highest honour in the country.
‌The head of St Petersburg regional assembly Alexander Belsky said the colonel died as he went to reinforce a storm detachment.
He was ‘cut off from fellow soldiers and seriously wounded.
‘Despite the self-help measures taken, he died, selflessly fighting until the last minute.’
