Russian Patriarch Kirill on nuclear weapons: Christians not afraid of end of world

Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that there is no need to stir up fear around nuclear weapons, as Christians are not afraid of the end of the world.

Source: Agentstvo.Novosti, a Russian news outlet, with reference to Kirill's statement at the plenary session of the XXVI World Russian People's Council

Quote: "Fearmongering around possible apocalyptic scenarios, excessive alarmism and speculation on the nuclear issue are not useful from a spiritual point of view. The enemy of humankind is trying to sow anxiety in the hearts of people ... because it is easier to manipulate a person deprived of the spiritual world... There is no need to play along with all this. Christians are not afraid of the so-called end of the world. We are waiting for the Lord Jesus, who will come to great glory, destroy evil and judge all nations."

Details: Kirill added that this "does not mean that we should sit by idly".

"On the contrary, our earthly mission is to be the Lord's soldiers ... to resist evil and defend high moral ideals. This is the goal setting in Russia," he said.

Background: 

• The Russian so-called red lines at various times concerned supplies of Leopard tanks, Western missiles and F-16 fighters to Ukraine, drone strikes on Russia, and more.
• Ukraine has repeatedly crossed these so-called red lines which were supposedly set by the Kremlin. However, even the entry of Ukrainian troops into Russian territory (the Kursk operation) and the Ukrainian control over hundreds of Russian settlements did not lead to any fundamentally new reaction from Russia in response to such actions.
• Russian ruler Vladimir Putin initially chose a strategy of ignoring what was happening and then tried to downplay the significance of the seizure of Russian territory by the Ukrainian army in every way possible.
• The Russian authorities and Kremlin-aligned media outlets also decided to ignore Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian airfields and ammunition depots – after each new attack, they only report that Russian air defence supposedly shot down dozens of drones, and never comment on the damage or losses.
• Talks about nuclear weapons resumed this autumn. In this way, Putin tried to prevent Kyiv from obtaining authorisation to strike Russian territory with Western long-range weapons.
• On 19 November, Putin even approved Russia's updated nuclear doctrine. This time,  "the launch of ballistic missiles" against Russia was considered one of the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons.
• Ukraine nevertheless received authorisation to use ATACMS missiles and, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence, has already used them on Russian territory.

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