Putin Uses Public Holiday to Laud Patriotic Feelings as Support for Troops in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presenting the Russian Hero of Labor gold medals and national awards in the fields of science and technology, literature and art, humanitarian efforts, charity and human rights advocacy for the previous year, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 12, 2023. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presenting the Russian Hero of Labor gold medals and national awards in the fields of science and technology, literature and art, humanitarian efforts, charity and human rights advocacy for the previous year, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 12, 2023. (AP)
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Putin Uses Public Holiday to Laud Patriotic Feelings as Support for Troops in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presenting the Russian Hero of Labor gold medals and national awards in the fields of science and technology, literature and art, humanitarian efforts, charity and human rights advocacy for the previous year, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 12, 2023. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony of presenting the Russian Hero of Labor gold medals and national awards in the fields of science and technology, literature and art, humanitarian efforts, charity and human rights advocacy for the previous year, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 12, 2023. (AP)

President Vladimir Putin on Monday marked the Day of Russia national holiday by lauding the country's patriotic tradition as a support for soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

“This public holiday marks the inseparability of centuries-old history, the greatness and glory of the Fatherland, affirms the unity of the multinational people, devotion to their country, a warm, sincere attitude towards their beloved Motherland,” he said at a ceremony presenting state awards.

“Such keen feelings ... in a difficult time for Russia, they unite our society even more strongly, serve as a reliable support for our heroes, the participants in the special military operation,” Putin said, using the Russian official terminology for the Ukraine conflict.

The holiday comes amid intensifying counteroffensive operations by Ukraine against Russian forces that occupy about 20% of the country. Ukrainian officials in recent days claimed to have regained control of some villages and to have made advances at some points along the front line.

Although Russia has been widely criticized for strikes on civilian targets including apartment buildings, Putin told recipients of the state awards that he was shocked by Ukraine attacking civilian areas.

“I can’t understand in any way why the enemy is striking residential areas. What for? Why? What is the point? (They are striking) clearly humanitarian facilities. What is the point of this? There is no military point, there is none,” he said.

The Day of Russia marks Russia's declaration of sovereignty in 1990, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. As part of that declaration, Russia asserted that its own laws took precedence over Soviet legislation. The move is seen as marking the beginning of constitutional reform in Russia, which became independent in the USSR's collapse in 1991.



France Holds Day of Mourning for Mayotte Islands Devastated by Cyclone

French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
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France Holds Day of Mourning for Mayotte Islands Devastated by Cyclone

French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and his wife Brigitte Macron (C-L) stand for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace during a day of national mourning for the lives lost after a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, in Paris, France, 23 December 2024. (EPA)

France held a national day of mourning for Mayotte, its Indian Ocean territory devastated by a violent cyclone on Dec. 14, beginning in the morning on Monday with a minute of silence for the scores of residents left dead by the storm.

Cyclone Chido was the worst storm to hit Mayotte's two main islands in 90 years, and authorities have said that perhaps thousands of people may have been killed in its wake, though the government's death toll stands at 35.

To commemorate Mayotte's losses, French flags were lowered to half-mast. Separately, flags were flown at half-mast in Brussels and Strasbourg because of Mayotte, as well as following attacks last week on a German Christmas market and in a Croatian school.

"It is a communion in mourning," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told reporters. He said the day showed solidarity for those in Mayotte, and that France was "present to reconstruct Mayotte and make sure the people of Mayotte feel surrounded by the entire country."

Following the storm, officials say corpses may have been buried quickly per religious custom, before they could be counted, and that many of the people killed may have been undocumented immigrants.

Mozambique has said 94 people died in the disaster, while 13 were killed in neighboring Malawi.

ANGER

The slow pace of aid and delays in the arrival of clean water have angered residents of Mayotte, France's poorest overseas territory located between Madagascar and Mozambique about 8,000 km (4971 miles) from the mainland, with some heckling President Emmanuel Macron during his visit last week.

For Mohamed Abdou, a doctor in Pamandzi, the day of French mourning was a political stunt and did not do enough to account for historic neglect leading up to this point.

"Whether in terms of hospitals, the lack of water infrastructure, electricity, and so on ... at this point, we need to say 'mea culpa' and acknowledge mistakes were made," he told Reuters, speaking from his town in the south of Mayotte's smaller island.

Francois-Noel Buffet, France's acting minister of overseas territories, told France 2 that water - a flashpoint even before the disaster - had made it to the island, saying: "We are not missing water. We have water, notably bottled water. We have a problem with distribution."

Buffet said he expected a special law on the reconstruction of Mayotte to be introduced in early January.

In Paris, Bayrou, France's fourth prime minister this year, is expected to unveil his cabinet Monday evening, though the timing was uncertain. The French presidency said the announcement would not take place before 6:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), to take into account the day of mourning.

Estelle Youssouffa, a lawmaker for Mayotte, criticized the government in an interview with Radio France Internationale for possibly making the announcement on the day of mourning, accusing Bayrou, who had not yet visited the islands, of "humiliating us a second time."