Serhiv Volyna, the commander in chief of the 36th Ukrainian Naval Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mikhail Bilinsky is said to have written a letter to Pope Francis that was published in the Ukrainian newspaper Pravda. The commander would have asked the Holy Father for help, emphasizing that “prayers are no longer enough”. The widely circulated text begins with the fact that Volyna is not Catholic but Orthodox. He introduces himself as an officer who swore allegiance to his country, fought for over 50 days while the city was surrounded by Russian troops, but says he is ready to fight to the end. “Probably writes the commander you have seen a lot in your life. But I’m sure he never saw what’s going on in Mariupol. This is what hell on earth looks like. I have little time he adds to describe all the horrors I see here every day. In the factory, women with children and babies live in bunkers. In hunger and cold. Every day under the target of enemy planes. The wounded die every day because there is no medicine, no water and no food».
Volyna finally asked the Pope for concrete help and wrote: “Bring the truth to the world, help to evacuate people and save their lives from the hands of Satan, who wants to burn all living things”. The 36th Brigade had already asked for help over the past few days by posting on their social channels. Ammunition and war supplies are reportedly running out in Mariupol. The post then sparked a clash between various Ukrainian authorities. Some, including the port city’s mayor, had called the post a fake created by some hackers. Others, such as Alina Mykhailova, a DUKPS Army volunteer and Kyiv City Council member, have disputed the hypothesis, confirming that they “continue to fight with insufficient weapons” in Mariupol.
[Foto di copertina di Pravda]
