Russian Christians collect signatures calling on Putin to stop escalation on the border with Ukraine

"I received this appeal from friends from Russia," Serhiy Shumylo, director of the International Institute of Athos Heritage (MIAS) wrote on Facebook.

"The fact that war is often justified from the pulpit offends the name of Christ, who never blessed murder... The blame for unleashing the war lies with the aggressor, and we do not want to see Russia, our country, in this role... We insist that all Russian troops concentrated on the border with Ukraine over the past few months, in excess of the usual number of border units, be withdrawn from the border with Ukraine. We call on all Christians and people of good will to join our statement," the document reads.

"A sober, honest and bold view of believers, for whom Christian peacefulness and the Gospel Commandments are not empty slogans. It is pleasant that there are many sober people in Russia who do not succumb to the zombification of agitprop, do not support the militant anti-Ukrainian rhetoric of their leadership and are not afraid to testify about it out loud. I would like to continue to maintain friendly relations with such people and thank them for their fearless Christian and civic position. I believe that despite the militant rhetoric of politicians and blackmail, there will be no war. The Lord will not allow it, because most people on different sides of the borders are against war! Such a war would be the beginning of the end of Russia itself, and many people there are well aware of this..." Serhiy Shumilo commented on the appeal of Russian Christians.

Such statements in Russia have not been isolated recently.

As RISU has reported, Russian troops of the southern and Western military districts bordering Ukraine began to return to their permanent locations after the exercises on Tuesday, February 15.

The minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has already responded to the situation. "Various statements are constantly being made from the Russian Federation, so we already have a rule: we will see, then we will believe. If we see a withdrawal, we will believe in de-escalation," Kuleba said at a briefing in Kyiv.

According to Kuleba, so far diplomats have managed to deter Russia from further escalation.