ST. PETERSBURG, July 30. /TASS/. The extermination of the church in Ukraine is due to the centuries-old relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists.

"They [Ukraine] are also destroying the church. This is, you know, a sure sign of what has been going on for centuries. And it has to do with the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church," the president said.

As TASS earlier reported, the so-called local council of the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine has approved the decision to switch to a new calendar, which, among other things, provides for the transfer of Christmas celebrations to December 25. At the same time, the head of the church, Epiphanius (Dumenko), said that the celebration of Easter will coincide with the date of this holiday according to the Julian calendar.