Patriarch urges soldiers to defend 'peace-loving' Russia amid Ukraine campaign

[libertybele]

Patriarch urges soldiers to defend 'peace-loving' Russia amid Ukraine campaign

he head of the Russian Orthodox Church held a service for Russian soldiers on Sunday in which he called on them to defend their country "as only Russians can" as Moscow continues its military campaign in Ukraine.

At the lavishly decorated Main Cathedral of the Armed Forces opened two years ago in Kubinka outside Moscow, Patriarch Kirill told a group of servicemen and servicewomen that Russia was a "peace-loving" country that had suffered greatly from war.

"We absolutely do not strive for war or to do anything that could harm others," said the patriarch, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.

"But we have been raised throughout our history to love our fatherland. And we will be ready to protect it, as only Russians can defend their country."

Kirill, 75, has previously made statements defending Moscow's actions in Ukraine and sees the war as a bulwark against a Western liberal culture that he considers decadent, particularly over the acceptance of homosexuality............

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/patriarch-urges-soldiers-defend-peace-loving-russia-amid-ukraine-campaign-2022-04-03/

[Kamaji]

Dear Patriarch:  Since when was Ukraine a part of Russia?  It's been an independent nation for quite a while now, so if there's any defending of Russia to be done, perhaps that should start with defending it from Putin.  Just a thought.