ROME — Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk has denounced Vladimir Putin’s sham “de-Nazification” of Ukraine as an excuse for genocide.
For 81 days now, “the Ukrainian people have been waging a brutal, bloody struggle against the Russian aggressor, who is killing the sons and daughters of the Ukrainian people and is trampling upon our Ukrainian land,” Archbishop Shevchuk said in a video message Sunday.
“Today, Russia’s goal in Ukraine is so-called ‘denazification,’” the archbishop noted. “But in fact, it is a genocide of the Ukrainian people which was openly declared in certain instructions.”
The disingenuous use of such charged language is an example of how “the enemy is destroying not only the cities and villages of Ukraine, but also the souls, not only of Ukrainians, but of people around the world, seducing them with lies,” he stated.
In his message, Shevchuk also called on intellectuals around the world not to remain silent, insisting that “if we do not condemn today the genocide of the Ukrainian people, which is being waged by Russia on our land, then tomorrow the souls tempted by such a murderous ideology can bring a lot of harm to all of humanity.”
As he has done on other occasions, the archbishop also offered an on-the-ground update on the state of the conflict, noting “bloody battles” are currently being fought in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
He also stated “more than 170,000 civilians in heroic Mariupol are suffering from severe hunger,” adding that the city is completely surrounded and “all people of good will cry out to the whole world for salvation.”
It is there, in Mariupol, where “Ukraine’s victory is being forged today,” he continued. “So I appeal to all those who have the power to save people in this city of Mary: do what you can!”
“We pray and do all that we can to save those who are on the verge of death by starvation and upon whose heads are falling tons of Russian bombs every day,” he added.
The archbishop also commented on a Russian campaign to mine Ukrainian land with explosives, noting that even in the liberated territories, “tens of thousands of hectares of Ukrainian land are still awaiting demining. And this will be a task for many years to come.”
“But Ukraine is standing. Ukraine is fighting,” he said. “Ukraine is shielding the world with its body from the latest danger that threatens all of humanity today.”
“And we feel that the Lord God is with us, and He blesses us. Ukraine is defeating its enemy day by day. Good triumphs over evil,” he declared.
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