Russian Orthodox priests carry out a religious procession over areas affected by massive floods. The four priests flew over flooded territories in the Kurgan region reciting prayers and carrying an icon of the Virgin Mary.
The region's metropolitan, Daniil, said he had received requests from several residents to lead this procession in the face of "the threat of flooding" President Vladimir Putin still has no plans to go there, despite the severity of the disaster which led to thousands of evacuations and protests against the local authorities. The flight was originally intended to monitor floods, but cult servants with a miraculous icon joined emergency specialists on board, a source said, according to a video released Thursday by the local Church. The group prayed for the floods to end and for Russia to be spared from further devastation. The video was released by a local Church in response to a request from Daniil for help from the region's Metropolitan, who is also the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in the region, for help in dealing with the floods.