Russia Sends 'Holy Relic' to Ukraine Front Lines to Boost Troop Morale

Russia: A fragment of a relic from the right hand of the renowned Russian warrior prince Dmitry Donskoy, who is credited with defeating the Mongol Golden Horde, has been sent to the front lines in Ukraine to boost the morale of Russian troops. This represents the latest expression of support from the Russian Orthodox Church for President Vladimir Putin's war. This was reported by Reuters on September 10. The ancient stone sarcophagus of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who died in 1389 and is revered by Russian nationalists for his victory over the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, was discovered this summer during renovations at the Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow, within the Kremlin. The Russian Orthodox Church, which has consistently supported President Putin throughout the war with Ukraine, announced that it had sent a relic fragment of Prince Donskoy's right hand to the Donetsk region, one of the four Ukrainian regions that President Putin declared annexed to Russia in 2022 – an act Kyiv rejected as an illegal territorial violation. The fragment of Prince Donskoy's relic sent to the front lines is referred to as a 'holy commander' to stand guard invisibly beside the Russian soldiers. The relic, housed in a small, ornate golden chest under protective glass, will be paraded before Russian troops along the more than 1,000-kilometer front line. Notably, the name of Prince Dmitry Donskoy was also given to a Soviet tank division that received financial support from the church during World War II. Source: Koh Santepheap Khmer