Grand Archbishop Shevchuk condemns Russian airstrikes on Kiev

Kiew - Kiev was hit by several Russian missiles on Monday. According to Ukrainian reports, at least 22 people were killed. This is a "sin that calls for revenge towards heaven", says Grand Archbishop Shevchuk.

Published on 08.07.2024 at 19:50 –

Ukrainian church leaders have strongly condemned the heavy Russian airstrike on Kiev on Monday morning. "This is not only a crime against human laws and rules," said Kiev's Greek Catholic Grand Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk in a video message. According to Christian morality, it is a "sin that calls for vengeance towards heaven", said the head of the church affiliated with Rome.

According to Ukrainian reports, at least 22 civilians were killed in Kiev by the Russian attack at around 10 am. Three of them were killed in a badly damaged paediatric clinic. Eight people were killed on the grounds of another medical centre. The Emergency Situations Agency reported a total of 33 civilians killed and 140 injured in Ukraine. In the city of Krywyj Rih, 400 kilometres south-east of Kiev, ten people were reportedly killed by a Russian missile attack.

Clergymen see "no excuse"

Shevchuk appealed to the conscience of all people in the world: "Condemn this crime and do everything you can to stop the hand of the unscrupulous murderer and punish him!" He expressed his condolences to the relatives of the dead.

The head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OKU), Metropolitan Epiphanius, wrote on the short messaging service X (formerly Twitter) that there was no excuse for those who gave or carried out such "criminal orders" to kill peaceful people: "The righteous judgement of God awaits the Russian murderers and attackers." Epiphanius added: "I bless everyone who fights against evil and stands on the side of good in order to bring its victory closer."

"Windows and walls shook"

Kiev's Roman Catholic Bishop Vitaly Kryvytsky saw the smoke from the fires caused by the rockets from his window in the Ukrainian capital, as he told the Ukrainian internet portal "credo.pro". "It was very loud. The windows and walls were shaking."

Russia is rightly labelled a terrorist state, said the bishop. It irritates him "that the world is used to the terrorist's actions and today reacts very cautiously and mostly with words and very little with concrete deeds". He called for prayers for a just peace. The Church must also tell the truth about what is happening. (KNA)