The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, made a speech at the Church of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, praising young Russians who join the ranks of the army and go to kill Ukrainians.
This is reported by Ukrayinska Pravda.
"If this can be explained by some privileges or material considerations in peacetime, then in wartime service in the Armed Forces is a real feat, and this is exactly the time we are currently experiencing. The service requires everyone who has taken the oath of office to defend their homeland without sparing their lives.
Once again, I want to say that we are a peace-loving country and a very peaceful, long-suffering people who have suffered from wars as few European peoples have. We have no desire for war or anything that would harm others. But we are already so brought up by our entire history that we love our homeland and are ready to defend it in a way that only Russians can defend it.
After all, we broke the backbone of fascism, which would undoubtedly have conquered the world if not for Russia, if not for the feat of our people," Kirill said.
During his sermon, the head of the Russian Orthodox church repeatedly praised the Russian military and stressed that thanks to their actions, the fate of Russia would be decided.
In addition, the Russian patriarch noted that the "peoples of Holy Russia" are now suffering because they are allegedly incited by some "external forces". Kirill said that he feels concerned for Russia's "brothers and sisters". But he did not react in any way to the war crimes committed by the Russian occupiers against the civilian population in Mariupol and the mass murders, rapes and bullying of residents of the settlements of the Kyiv region.
As reported, the Russian Orthodox Church and Kirill are candidates for being expelled from the World Council of Churches.