Ukraine conflict war not military operation, Pope Francis faults Putin

Pope Francis on Sunday rejected Russia’s assertion that it is carrying out a “a special military operation” in Ukraine, saying the country was being battered by a war.

“In Ukraine rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not only a military operation but a war which is leading to death, destruction and misery,” the pope said in his weekly address to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Rome

Last Wednesday, Pope Francis asked people around the world to remember Ukrainians in underground shelters seeking protection from bombardments and thanked Poland for taking in the bulk of refugees from the war.

Francis spoke at his weekly general audience on Ash Wednesday, which he has declared a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine.

After addressing Poles, the pope went off script to say that the Polish translator on the stage with him, Father Marek Viktor Gongalo, is Ukrainian.

His parents are now in underground shelters to protect themselves from the bombs in a place near Kyiv,” the pope said.

“By accompanying him, we accompany all the people who are suffering from the bombings, including his elderly parents and so many other elderly who are in underground shelters defending themselves. Let us remember these people in our hearts.”

Kyiv residents have been sheltering in metro stations and other underground sites at night, there are long lines for fuel, and some products are running out in shops.

Similarly, some Nigerians in war-torn Ukraine have rejected the Federal Government’s offer to evacuate them, insisting that it was more dangerous to return home.

As of Saturday morning, nearly a thousand Nigerians who fled Ukraine to either Poland or other neighbouring countries, have been evacuated.

However, not every Nigerian affected by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine wishes to return to the West African country.

Some Nigerians who spoke with Channels TV said they would prefer to find alternatives in Europe rather than returning to the country.

Lukman Ibrahim, a student, who fled Ukraine into Poland, said, “I will seek for student permit and continue my life from here. Because home is not safe, everybody knows this.

“You now expect me to come home and face the same thing when I just survived a war? I will never do that.”

Also speaking, one Emeka Nnamdi, who is still in Sumy, Ukraine, said “I am currently doing my Masters here.

“I finished my six years of medical school here. And I am doing a speciality course, which will take me three years.

“But if I’m doing a speciality course in Nigeria, it will take me more than five years, if not seven years. So why should I come home?”

“As the war has broken out, we are supposed to run to our country for safety. But I’ll rather stay here,” Ibrahim added

“We are all here risking our lives, but going back to our country is riskier.”

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