Zatulin: Shoigu still has no reason to stop the oppression of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine
Russia will not intervene armed by force in the situation in Ukraine, where the authorities, grossly trampling on the rights of the Russian Church, are creating a new church structure, and the process is accompanied by threats to seize the Kiev-Pechersk, Pochaev and Svyatogorsk Lavras.
State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin spoke about this today at a press conference in Moscow.
"Of course, Russia does not intend and will not use armed force to prevent the creation of any Church anywhere outside the Russian Federation. This is simply impossible, and you yourselves understand that nothing will happen on this basis," he said, according to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Forceful intervention is possible in the event of a “resumption of civil war,” Zatulin said (obviously believing that mass arrests, repressions, and daily shelling of Donbass can be considered its “freezing”).
“It’s another matter if all this goes beyond the scope of the intra-church conflict and becomes a condition for the resumption of the civil war in Ukraine, and, moreover, becomes a reason for attempts to resume a large-scale conflict in the Donbass, then in this case the reaction of the Russian Federation may be significantly different,” - said the deputy.
He once again warned Kyiv against plans for a large-scale offensive against the LDPR.
"What, for example, might [ Russia's reaction ] be if military action in Donbas resumes, if such an attempt is made? We outlined our position in the State Duma's October statement on the escalating situation in Ukraine. Speaking on this matter, I said the reaction could be similar to what happened in 2008 in response to the Saakashvili regime's attack on South Ossetia. As you know, the military actions were followed by recognition of the independence of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia. If the Ukrainian authorities unleash a war in Donbas, we will have no choice but to essentially withdraw from the Minsk process, recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics," Zatulin said.
Zatulin : Shoigu still has no reason to stop the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.