Fox News airs Easter service with Putin in Moscow, labels Kyiv as Russian city. Ukraine responds

The broadcast was streamed on the Fox News YouTube channel.

Most of the coverage focused on the service in Moscow, where a Russian-language sermon was aired without translation.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill (Gundyaev), addressed Russians with a cynical message: “We will pray and work so that a just and lasting peace is established across historical Rus. And so that no forces can destroy the spiritual unity of the people who received grace in the Kyiv baptismal font.”

Meanwhile, in a small window on the screen, Fox News also aired a service of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. At first, the channel's caption read: “Easter Service: Kyiv, Ukraine.”

However, after a short pause and a new segment, the channel changed the caption to “Kyiv, Russia.” That label stayed on screen for more than 30 minutes. Eventually, the editors corrected it back to “Kyiv, Ukraine.”

Later, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the incident on Fox News, urging an apology from the network.

“If this was a mistake rather than a deliberate political statement, there should be an apology and an investigation into who made the mistake,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi.

Putin's "Easter truce": background

Putin unilaterally announced an “Easter truce” beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

Leading up to 6:00 p.m., air raid alerts continued in Kyiv, and Russian drones were shot down over the capital’s Left Bank.

At 5:30 p.m., Russia launched a missile strike on Izyum in the Kharkiv region. Even after the announced start of the truce, Russian FPV drones continued hitting targets in the Kherson region.

After 9:00 p.m. on April 19, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief briefed President Zelenskyy with updated information from all frontline sectors regarding the implementation of Putin’s so-called “Easter truce.” At that time, it was reported that while some areas had quieted down, others remained active with ongoing hostilities.

As of Easter morning, April 20, Russian forces appear to be trying to create the impression of a ceasefire at the front, but are still carrying out isolated attacks and attempting to push forward in some areas.