
Russia has criticized comments by Pope Francis that some minority groups of its soldiers behaved worse than others in the war that began in Ukraine months ago.
The "cruelest" troops are usually those of Chechens and Buryats, the Pope told the American magazine, America. Russia has considered these statements as "perversions" and has said that national groups are "one family".
During the interview, the Pope was asked about what is considered a reluctance on his part to directly condemn Russia for the started war. In response, he said that he received "a lot of information about the cruelty of the troops". "In general, the most cruel troops are those who are in Russia, but who have no Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, Buryats and others," he said.
The Pope also said that "what is invading is Russia". Chechens are originally from Chechnya, a region in the southwest of Russia, and are predominantly Muslim. The Buryats, a Mongolian ethnic group, originate from eastern Siberia and function according to the practices of Buddhism. Russia consists of many republics with different ethnic and religious groups. The main religion in this country is Orthodox.
Pope Francis has said that he has talked several times with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, by phone, but also with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, through representatives of the Holy See in Russia. The war in Ukraine started on February 24, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, considers the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.
The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions, as a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes.