Volodymyr Zelensky wonders why church leaders in Germany and other countries do not condemn the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who actively supports Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
He told Die Zeit about his attitude to this topic in response to the question, "Do you expect a clearer signal against him from German churches?" This is reported by Liga.net.
Volodymyr Zelensky gave an example when the Russian invaders fired upon one of the Orthodox shrines is the Svyatogirsk monastery in the Donetsk region, as a result of which the Skete burned down.
"And this is not the first shrine in Ukraine destroyed by Russia. If a religious leader blesses such crimes and murders of people, why don't other church leaders condemn him? How can Christians remain silent?" Zelensky asked rhetorically.
Again he called on international partners to be more actively involved and help, given the increased supply of weapons: "Putin hates the idea of a free and united Europe, and we oppose this. Thus, say whatever, but help us. Please."
According to him, “it would be fatal if the war in Ukraine became normal" for the global community.
"It will be wiser if everyone in Europe helps us now so that we don't have to protect other peoples later. <...> To some people, my demand may seem like running in circles, but I have to reiterate: we need modern weapons. We need support to survive and win. And the less willing our partners are to help us with weapons, the longer this war will last, and the more people will die," Zelensky summed up.