The seizure of Ukraine is just an 'appetizer'. The Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia have no illusions. They know they will be the next 'course'. In fact, no one should have any illusions about Russia.
This was stated by Patriarch Sviatoslav of the UGCC in Berlin during the traditional St. Michael's Reception, an event that annually brings together about 500 guests in Berlin, including media representatives, intellectuals, and politicians, the Information Department of the UGCC reports.
The reception was also attended by Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz, Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany Svenja Schulze and Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany Nancy Faeser.
The participation of the Head of the UGCC in the “St. Michael's Reception” as an honored guest was held at the invitation of Bishop Georg Bätzing, Chairman of the Conference of the German Bishops and Prelate Dr. Karl Justen.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that Ukraine is approaching the thousandth day of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine: “A thousand days of air raid sirens across the country. A thousand days of bloody carnage, terror and death. Ten years have passed since the first act of aggression - the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in Donbas.
This war has turned into a marathon in which Ukrainians must constantly run at sprint speed in order not to be defeated in the deadly race.
I ask you to run this marathon with us - run fast, decisively and fearlessly,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav called on the German politicians and clergy.
The Head of the UGCC noted that he did not come to Berlin to complain and lament.
“My desire is to bring hope, to encourage you and to share the source of our strength and resilience with you. We have a task that we must accomplish together, for the genocides of Hitler and Stalin cannot be repeated,” he emphasized.
According to the Head of the UGCC, there can be no doubt about Russia's genocidal intentions: “Putin has expressed them unequivocally and will stop at nothing until he is stopped. Putin sent a killer to Germany. For years he denied it until last month when he greeted the convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov as a hero, a loyal FSB agent and killer, an old colleague from the St. Petersburg shooting range, who fulfilled a mission in your country initiated by the Russian president.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that neither the world's democracies nor the Church should support a world that accepts aggression as a successful method of appropriating the sovereign territory of another country.
“This would be a fatal blow to global security, as it would encourage all other potential aggressors,” he said.
Speaking about the peace agreement, the Head of the UGCC noted that Ukraine needs and deeply aspires to a true, just, sustainable peace, not a fleeting, illusory truce.
“Let us ask ourselves: is there at least one security agreement between Ukraine and Russia that the latter has not violated? No, there is none,” the Primate added.
The Head of the UGCC called for helping people in Germany and other Western countries to see past stereotypes and overcome fears, illusions and disappointments: “I ask you to explain to them that this is not only a Ukrainian war - it is a war on which the future of democracy in Ukraine, in Europe, and around the world depends. The war against Ukraine is a war against Germany, the whole of Europe and the entire democratic order. Unfortunately, it is also your war. Ukraine needs your support not only for its own sake but for yours, too... the pandemic of war has engulfed the entire Russian society. Collective Putin means millions of accomplices. The ideology of evil does not hide the fact that its goal is the destruction of Ukrainians and the final “solution of the Ukrainian issue”. It demands this publicly.”
The UGCC Patriarch emphasized that Putin has other goals besides Ukraine:
“Not the least of Putin's goals is to destabilize Germany and the whole of Europe by any means possible, including demographic and ethnic cleansing. His invasion of Ukraine has forced 8 million refugees to flee to the European Union. He intends to further dehumanize our country through a broader, indeed total, occupation that will force at least 10 million more refugees to flee to the EU. One can only imagine how this would affect Germany. Ukrainians are paying a heavy price to prevent this from happening.”