'From the east of Europe... dark shadows of war': Pope's veiled Putin criticism
Pope Francis has condemned the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and hit out at the Russian aggression several times, but has till date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name.
Pope Francis may visit war-torn Kyiv, foreign news agencies reported Saturday as Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered a 38th day. The Pope, who has been invited by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko and the Ukranian ambassador to the Vatican, delivered his most pointed denunciation yet of Moscow's war; he referred to a 'potentate... from the east of Europe' who had unleashed the threat of nuclear war.
"Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that, will either shared, or not be at all," he said during an event in Malta.
"We had thought invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past..."
"However, the icy winds of war, which bring only death, destruction and hatred in their wake, have swept down powerfully upon the lives of many people and affected us all."
The Pope has so far not referred to either Russia or Putin by name but Saturday's comments marked a new level of outrage for the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church.
He has previously condemned Russia's actions and has spoken to Zelenskyy on the phone.
Last month he joined the world in rejecting Moscow's description of its brutal attacks as a 'military operation' and said, "In Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not only a military operation but a war which is leading to death, destruction and misery.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine has pushed some priests in the country to call for a break from the Russian Orthodox Church, which has also made no public comment so far.
"The ones who pay the price of war are the people, the Russian soldiers and the people who are bombarded and die," the Pope told Patriarch Kirill on March 18.
Officially the Vatican continues to keep its distance from the Russia-Ukraine war, believing it can facilitate dialogue better if it doesn't take sides or publicly call out aggressors.
The fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian forces entered its 38th day today.
Ukrainian authorities claim the Russians are making a 'rapid retreat' from Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv but warn the enemy is now massing in the east and south.
On Friday thousands of people from besieged Mariupol and surrounding Russian-held areas escaped in a convoy of buses and private cars.