Russia entered the armed conflict in Ukraine against its own will, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church said in a sermon delivered on Sunday in the Nizhny Novgorod region in western Russia, EFE and Agerpres reported.

“What is happening today is not just another military campaign, some tension. It seems that many wanted to erase Orthodox Russia from the face of the earth,” Patriarch Kirill said, RIA Novosti quotes.

“But this should not happen, so today our special prayer is for our government, for our army, for our president, for all those on whom the outcome of this battle, which we entered against our will, really depends on,” said Kyrylo, passionate a supporter of the Russian military campaign in the neighboring country and the policies of President Vladimir Putin.

Kyrylo: “Russia is a thorn in the side for many”

The patriarch added that Russia has become a “thorn in the side” for many in the world and some believe that it “can be destroyed.”

“Today, our Motherland is going through trials (…). Some believe that the time has come to put an end to Russia,” he added, associating it with “an alternative vision of the world, God, and man.”

“So, of course, Russia is a thorn in the side of many,” echoed the Russian patriarch, whose support for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine has drawn criticism from both the Vatican and other Orthodox churches.

On February 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, the first aggression of its kind in Europe since World War II.

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