(Reuters) – On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin attended the Easter Mass of the Russian Orthodox Church. This church strongly supported the Kremlin’s special military operation in Ukraine.

Putin, wearing a dark blue suit and a purple shirt with dark tie, stood side by side at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. A lit red candle was also on display, as live images from the midnight services showed.

During the ceremony, the Russian leader crossed himself many times. Putin stood with other congregation members when Kirill, the Patriarch of Russia announced that Christ has risen. He replied “Truly he’s risen.” He didn’t speak.

Kirill stated that he was hopeful the conflict would be resolved quickly, but he did not endorse it at an outdoor Moscow church service. He supported Russia’s aggression and was condemned by Kyiv, the Western countries, and has caused a split in the Orthodox Church around world.

Russia claims it’s conducting a military special in Ukraine that aims to demilitarize and “denazify” the country. This is a pretext that the West and Ukraine deny as untrue.