If earlier the leaders of the Russian Federation used the theses “on the protection of the Russian-speaking population” to justify its aggression against Ukraine, now the Kremlin has started talking about “protecting the interests of the Orthodox Christians,” spokeswoman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mariana Betsa has said.
“We heard similar statements about “protecting the Russian-speaking population” from the Russian Federation as an excuse for its aggression against Ukraine,” she wrote on her Twitter page on Friday.
Earlier they said in the Kremlin that they intend to protect the interests of the Orthodox population in Ukraine if the situation in the country worsens in connection with the decisions of the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate.
“If the developing events enter into the mainstream of illegal actions, then, of course, as Russia everywhere protects the interests of Russians and Russian-speaking people, then Putin has also said this many times [Russian President Vladimir Putin], Russia also protects the interests of the Orthodox Christians,” Russia’s presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
