Pope Francis has condemned the actions of Russian troops in Ukraine. Apparently he was “simply a victim of propaganda and the persistence of foreign media”, said Chechen leader Kadyrov. Russian Ambassador to the Vatican Avdeev also protested before the Holy See.
The Pope’s most recent statements on the war in Ukraine were outraged by Russia and Chechnya. Russian ambassador to the Vatican Alexander Avdeev told Russian state news agency Ria Novosti that he had expressed his “outrage” to the Holy See. According to Kathpress, the reason for this was an interview with the Pope published earlier this week in the Jesuits’ “America Magazine”.
In it, Francis condemned the “cruelty” of Russian troops in Ukraine. “In general, perhaps the most cruel are those who belong to Russia but do not belong to the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on,” the Pope said. Ambassador Avdeev is now quoted as saying that, in addition to his outrage over these allegations, he stressed “that nothing can shake the cohesion and unity of the Russian multinational people”.
Kadyrov: Pope as “victim of propaganda”
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov declared through his Telegram channel that “we will not start a battle without first proposing peace”, according to the Interfax agency. There is not a single alcoholic or drug addict among the Chechen troops. “Every soldier is deeply religious and every soldier knows that even during a war one should not forget about honor, dignity and respect for the enemy,” Kadyrov said. The Pope was apparently “simply a victim of the propaganda and persistence of the foreign media”. Kadyrov and his Chechen special forces are accused internationally of the most serious human rights crimes in Ukraine’s war.
According to Interfax, the spiritual leader of Russian Buddhists, Pandito Hambo-Lama Damba Badmajewitsch Ajuschejew, described Pope Francis’ allegations as unfair. European Catholics don’t understand that living in cold Siberia and the Far East makes people “more resilient and more patient” with adversity. “So our people are not cruel”; but they would have to defend themselves and “liberate their homeland from fascism, as our grandfathers and great-grandfathers did”, said the Buddhist.
(APA)