“In the Euro Atlantic space, Russian propaganda promotes the narrative of this war as a purportedly forced defence of ‘traditional values’ against the advance of ‘godless liberalism’,” says Metropolitan Epifaniy
The Primate of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine deplored Russia’s insistence on using religion in justifying its aggression against Ukraine, warning that despite over three years of conflict, many still “greatly underestimate the pseudo-religious factor as a foundation for justifying and advancing Russian aggression.”
Speaking at a conference in Prague, Metropolitan Epifaniy rejected Moscow’s insistence that the war is a religious conflict, which, in his view, is a narrative that Russia’s leadership is using to “build the foundation for aggression” and to rally support “to sustain that aggression and [using] religious institutions to spread and entrench war propaganda.”
He said Russia is using two complementary pseudo-Christian narratives to further its hostile aims in relation to Ukraine, both domestically and on the global stage. Among international audiences, “Russia presents itself not as an aggressor but as a fake ‘defender of traditional Christianity’.”
“In the Euro Atlantic space, Russian propaganda promotes the narrative of this war as a purportedly forced defence of ‘traditional values’ against the advance of ‘godless liberalism’,” he stated at the Forum 2000 international conference in Prague on Tuesday.
“For the domestic audience, it employs the ideology of the ‘Russkiy Mir’ and explains the war against Ukraine as a supposed sacred duty – ‘to liberate Holy Rus’ from the influence of a heretical and godless West.”
Meanwhile, most of Ukraine’s regions were forced to implement emergency blackouts due to sustained Russian drone attacks on vital energy infrastructure in recent weeks, as temperatures plummeted.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky is attending a meeting with US President Trump at the White House, hoping to secure approval from Trump for the subsonic Tomahawk missiles, which have a far superior range of 2,500 km and could potentially reach Moscow.
The US President signalled his readiness to supply Ukraine with these weapons, but a sudden phone call with Vladimir Putin yesterday may have shifted the dynamics once again. The call, which lasted more than two hours, was described by the US President as “very productive”. Both Putin and Trump agreed to hold another face-to-face meeting soon, choosing Budapest as the venue.
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, spoke about the intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in his weekly video address, which he said left major cities “without electricity and water supply, turning civilian life into a real hell.”
He described the coming winter as probably “one of the most arduous periods in our recent history.”
“Today, we want the world to hear: at a time when the leaders of states, even in Russia, are negotiating peace, an unprecedented escalation of war is unfolding,” he emphasised.
