Pope Francis Praises Ukrainian Warriors For Their Persistence Against Moscow Troops, Pope Francis: Russia Miscalculated, They Are Up Against Brave Men

Paus Fransiskus. (Wikimedia Commons/Rolando Mailo)

JAKARTA - Pope Francis called the invasion a violation of a country's right to self-determination, describing what Russian troops are doing in Ukraine as brutal, cruel and vicious.

In the text of a conversation he had last month with Jesuit media editors and published on Tuesday, Pope Francis praised the "brave" Ukrainian people for struggling to survive.

However, the Pope also said the situation was not black and white, and that the war was "probably in some way provoked".

While condemning "the ferocity, cruelty of the Russian troops, we must not forget the real problems if we want them to be solved," the Pope said, including the armaments industry among the factors that provide incentives for war.

"It's also true that the Russians thought it would all be over in a week. But they miscalculated. They met brave people, people who fought to survive and who had a history of struggle," he said in a transcript of the conversation, published by the journal ' Jesuit Civilta Cattolica', as reported by Reuters June 14.

“This is what moves us, to see such heroism. I really want to emphasize this point, the heroism of the Ukrainian people. What lies before our eyes is a situation of world wars, global interests, arms sales and geopolitical dispossession, which are the martyrs of the heroic people," Pope Francis said.

Separately, in a message for the upcoming Roman Catholic Church's World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis lamented that Ukraine had been added to a list of regional wars.

"But here the situation is even more complex because of the direct intervention of a 'superpower', which aims to impose its own will that violates the principle of people's self-determination," he explained.

In a conversation with Jesuit editor Pope Francis said months before President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine, the Pope had met with a head of state who expressed concern that NATO was "barking at Russia's gates" in a way that could lead to war.

The Pope then said in his own words: "We don't see the whole drama going on behind this war, which may have been somehow provoked or not prevented".

Asking himself rhetorically if that made him "pro-Putin", he said: "No, I don't. It would be very simple and wrong to say such a thing."

In addition, Pope Francis also noted the use of 'terrible' Chechen and Syrian mercenaries in Ukraine, by Russian authorities.

Not to forget, the Pope also hopes to meet Russian Orthodox Christian Patriarch Kirill at an interfaith event in Kazakhstan in September. The two were due to meet in Jerusalem in June but the trip was canceled because of the war.

It is known, Kirill, who is close to President Putin, has given full support to the war in Ukraine. Pope Francis said last month Kirill could not be an "altar son of Putin", sparking protests from the Russian Orthodox Church.