Pope Benedict called on world leaders to find a peaceful solution in and around Ukraine, with Western nations warning that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time.
C. Rubini CTC, Vatican News
Pope Francis has renewed his prayers for the Eastern European country of Ukraine as a group of Western nations urge their citizens to leave Ukraine.
During a midday prayer service in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, the pope said that the news from Ukraine was “very disturbing.” Pope Francis has invited all to submit to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to urge political leaders to use all means possible to achieve peace.
For widespread distress Possibility
The pope’s request for prayers comes after US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to widespread human suffering. The White House said Biden had told the Russian president that Western countries were still committed to diplomacy to end the crisis. At the same time, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken explained that Western allies were equally ready for “other means”, including sanctions and military action.
“They and their allies have made it clear to Russia that they will impose tough economic sanctions on allies and allies around the world if President Putin steps in.” He added that he would underline this when talking to the Russian Foreign Minister.
Military preparation
Blinken said Russia’s ongoing military preparations and the threat of an imminent Russian offensive justify the evacuation of the U.S. embassy from Ukraine.
Russia has so far deployed 150,000 troops around Ukraine, said Vice Admiral Niles Andreas Stevens, head of Norway’s secret police service. This is higher than the figures from Ukraine and the United States.
The White House has said that an hour – long telephone conversation between Biden and Putin will reduce the threat of war in Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Tselensky has called for calm. He said his country was well-prepared after Russia’s move in 2014 to support pro-Russian separatists and annex Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula to Russia. He emphasized that the letter was not a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into Russia, but rather a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations.
Colonel Konstantin Sivkov, vice president of the Crimean – backed Russian Missile and Arsenal Academy, fears that a confrontation between Russia and the United States over Ukraine could lead to a nuclear war. He said that this could lead to the biblical “Armageddon” about the last wars, that a nuclear war would destroy the United States and Russia, and that the world would change, and that diplomatic efforts to overcome Europe’s greatest security crisis in decades would continue.