Pope Francis has sparked fury in Russia over an interview in which he suggested that Chechen and Buryat members of its armed forces showed more cruelty in Ukraine than ethnic Russian soldiers.
In an interview with the Catholic magazine America published Monday, the pope said that soldiers from Buryatia, where Buddhism is a major religion, and the Muslim-majority Chechnya republic, were “the cruellest” while fighting in Ukraine.
“Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on,” he said.
Russia has disproportionately relied on ethnic minorities to provide its main fighting force in Ukraine.
Human rights groups and independent media organisations have documented overwhelming evidence of war crimes by Russian forces, but there has been no data to suggest that soldiers from national minorities fighting in Ukraine have behaved worse in Ukraine than ethnic Russian members.
The pope’s comments were swiftly condemned by Russian officials on Monday evening.
“This is no longer Russophobia, it’s a perversion on a level I can’t even name,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel.
“We are one family with Buryats, Chechens and other representatives of our multinational and multi-confessional country,” Zakharova added.
Alexandra Garmazhapova, the founder of the anti-war Free Buryatia organisation, called the comments “inexcusable and racist.”
“I was extremely disappointed to read these racist, inexcusable statements,” said Garmazhapova.
“Russia is waging an imperial war started and led by Vladimir Putin, who is by all accounts not a member of an ethnic minority. The pope should condemn him personally, but he decided to sidestep the Russian president.”
“Let’s not forget that the Russian Orthodox church is one of the biggest supporters of the war,” Garmazhapova added, referring to the public backing of the war by the head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill.
Garmazhapova also pointed to a Ukrainian investigation that identified a group of ethnic Russian troops as the main suspects behind the killings of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha last spring.
“These comments are wrong on so many levels,” she said.
It is not the first time that the pope has faced controversy over his views on Ukraine. Kyiv has repeatedly criticised the head of the Catholic church since the start of Russia’s invasion in February for failing to adequately condemn the Kremlin for its role in the conflict.
Francis has also previously said that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine was “perhaps somehow provoked” by the west, mentioning an earlier conversation with an unnamed head of state who expressed concern that Nato was “barking at the gates of Russia” in a way that could lead to war.
In an apparent rebuke to accusations of not directly criticising Putin, the pope told America magazine: “Sometimes I try not to specify so as not to offend and rather condemn in general, although it is well known whom I am condemning. It is not necessary that I put a name and surname.”
He continued: “Why do I not name Putin? Because it is not necessary; it is already known. However, sometimes people latch on to a detail. Everyone knows my stance, with Putin or without Putin, without naming him.”