Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, reacted with pain and indignation to Russia’s latest criminal strike targeting the civilian population of Odesa, as a result of which five children and their relatives died.
In his posting on Facebook, he mentioned the names of the innocent children who had fallen victim to the strike – 4-month-old Tymofiy, 7-month-old Liza, 3-year-old Mark, 8-year-old Zlata, and 9-year-old Serhiy. “Their blood is on the hands of all those who give orders to the Russian army and execute them, on the hands of those who continue to serve tyranny and justify it,” the Metropolitan emphasized.
“The evil Russian empire continues to destroy Ukrainians every day. Every new shelling, explosion, infliction of wounds and murder expands the guilt of the Kremlin’s tyranny, and our hearts echo with pain and anger.
However, among all these tragic messages that break our hearts every day, the news about the Russian atrocity against peaceful Odesans, about the death of five children, their relatives and loved ones from the impact of Russian weapons – will move in a special way every heart except for a stone one.
Over 500 Ukrainian children have already been killed by Russian evil, Epifaniy recalled.
Their blood is including on the hands of the head of Moscow Patriarchate, Gundyaev, and his henchmen, who cherish the ideology of the “Russian world” and consider this diabolical war to be “sacred”.
“As pagans of the past, you sacrifice Ukrainian children to the idol of the empire, and shed their blood. For this terrible sin before God and people, let all the biblical punishments assigned to the devil and his servants fall on you!” Epifaniy stressed.
“Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven to all innocents who died at the hands of these servants of Satan! May the Lord rest their souls with the saints, and give strength to relatives and friends to endure the pain of a tragic loss. Our prayers and condolences are with you,” the Metropolitan wrote.
