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Mon, Aug 15 20227:21 PM EDT

US' Women's National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, waits for the verdict inside a defendants' cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022.

Evgenia Novozhenina | AFP | Getty Images

The State Department said the Biden administration is speaking with the Russian government about WNBA star Brittney Griner's case.

"No element of this trial changes our judgment that Brittney Griner is being wrongfully detained and should be released immediately," State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a daily press briefing.

"That is why we've put forward a number of weeks ago what we consider to be serious a substantial proposal and an effort to seek her release, to seek the release of Paul Whelan as well," he said, referencing a June proposal the Biden administration made public last month.

"We are in communication with the Russians on this matter. And we encourage them to pursue this," Price added.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20226:09 PM EDT

ISTANBUL, TURKIYE - AUGUST 09: An aerial view of "Glory" named empty grain ship as Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) conduct inspection on vessel in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 09, 2022. The UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny -- for grain that has been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month. (Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said it has approved five more vessels to leave the besieged country.

The vessel Propus is carrying 9,111 metric tons of wheat and is destined for Romania. The ship named Osprey is carrying 11,500 metric tons of corn and is headed to Turkey. The vessel Ramus is also headed to Turkey and is loaded with 6,161 metric tons of wheat.

The ship named Brave Commander is carrying 23,300 metric tons of wheat to Djibouti and will be later transferred to Ethiopia. The vessel Bonita is carrying 60,000 metric tons of corn and is destined for South Korea.

All five ships are expected to leave on Tuesday.

The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, also separately authorized the movement of three more ships pending inspections.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20224:17 PM EDT

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres conducts a press briefing on the launch of the 3rd brief by the GCRG (Global Crisis Response Group) on Food, Energy and Finance at UN Headquarters.

Lev Radin | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Russia's Minister of Defense said he spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russia's Sergei Shoigu discussed the safe operation of the facility and gave an update on events taking place on the ground, according to a Kremlin statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.

The two also discussed the U.N. initiative to facilitate the export of Russian fertilizers as well as Ukrainian agriculture products.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20223:37 PM EDT

A Russian serviceman patrols the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Energodar on May 1, 2022. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, seized by Russian forces in March, is in southeastern Ukraine and is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.

Andrey Borodulin | Afp | Getty Images

The spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General denied Russian claims that U.N. officials were canceling or blocking visits from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

"First, the IAEA is a specialized agency that acts in full independence in deciding how to implement its specific mandate. Second, the U.N. Secretariat has no authority to block or cancel any IAEA activities," wrote U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stphane Dujarric in a statement.

Dujarric added that the U.N. supports a potential IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, should both Russia and Ukraine agree.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20223:16 PM EDT

Ukrainian evacuees react in a bus while they drive on a road east of Kharkiv on May 30, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Genya Savilov | AFP | Getty Images

A Ukrainian official said Russian forces are currently carrying out reverse deportations of Ukrainian citizens.

Ukrainians who have been earlier forcibly taken away from Mariupol to Russia are now being returned from Pskov, Russia back to Mariupol, according to Petro Andryushchenko, who serves as an advisor to Mariupol's mayor.

Andryushchenko said on the messaging app Telegram that the groups of Ukrainian deportees have become a headache for local authorities.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20222:36 PM EDT

Soldiers who were among several hundred that took up positions around a Ukrainian military base stand near the base's periphery in Crimea on March 2, 2014 in Perevalne, Ukraine.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images

The British military said in an intelligence update that Russian forces may not be able to occupy all of Donetsk in Ukraine.

"The Kremlin will likely see the military's failure to occupy the entirety of Donetsk Oblast thus far as a setback for its maximalist objectives in Ukraine," the British Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Russia has focused most of its hostilities in Ukraine's easternmost regions, including the area surrounding the city of Donetsk.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20222:05 PM EDT

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses the assembly during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 26, 2022.

Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would not back several fellow European countries that have called for an EU-wide move to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens.

The nations backing such a ban say that Russians should not be able to take vacations in Europe while Moscow wages war in Ukraine. Finland and Denmark want an EU decision and some EU countries bordering Russia already no longer issue visas to Russians.

"This is not the war of the Russian people. It is (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war and we have to be very clear on that topic," Scholz said.

"It is important to us to understand that there are a lot of people fleeing from Russia because they are disagreeing with the Russian regime," he told a press conference on the sidelines of a one-day meeting of the five Nordic leaders in Oslo to which the German chancellor was invited.

Associated Press

Mon, Aug 15 20221:00 PM EDT

Maria Pshenychnykh, 83, sits in the kitchen of her war-damaged home near Kharkiv on May 18, 2022 in Vilkhivka, Ukraine, which had until recently been occupied by Russian forces. Seniors in the city have been relying on humanitarian aid, as their monthly government pension payments were suspended due to the fighting. In recent weeks Ukrainian forces have advanced towards the Russian border after Russia's offensive on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city stalled.

John Moore | Getty Images

Russia's war in Ukraine has left 17.7 million people in serious need of humanitarian aid, according to United Nations estimates.

"Millions of people across the country have endured months of intense hostilities without adequate access to food, water, health care, education, protection and other essential services," the group wrote in a report. "Massive destruction of civilian infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without their homes or livelihoods."

The U.N. warned that more people will be affected by the upcoming winter season.

"Too many are now living in damaged homes or in buildings ill-suited to provide protection for the upcoming harsh cold season, where the sub-zero temperatures could be life-threatening," the U.N. said.

The U.N. estimates that since Russia's war in Ukraine began more than five months ago, humanitarian organizations have scaled up operations in order to reach 11.7 million people.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 202212:35 PM EDT

A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Aug. 4, 2022.

Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantis operating with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards, according to an update from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office.

Russian forces took control of the facility in March, a few days after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

"Ukraine calls on the world community to take urgent measures to force Russia to give back control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for the sake of the security of the whole world," the statement added.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 202211:54 AM EDT

Ukrainian soldier Igor Ryazantsev with the Dnipro-1 regiment keeps watch outside his tent during a period of relative calm around their position near Sloviansk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Members of the unit believe a Russian advance could be impending with the aim of seizing the strategic city.

David Goldman | AP Photo

The Ukrainian government extended its martial law for another 90 days as Russia's war marches into its sixth month.

Martial law is declared in an emergency and temporarily replaces civilian rule with military authority. The Ukrainian government will reassess if martial law needs to be extended again on November 21, according to an update posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 202211:32 AM EDT

Volunteers lower into a grave a coffin with one of fourteen unidentified persons killed by Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, during a burial ceremony in the town of Bucha, in Kyiv region, Ukraine August 9, 2022.

Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters

The United Nations has confirmed civilian 5,514 deaths and 7,698 injuries in Ukraine since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay fatality reports.

The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 202210:54 AM EDT

Volunteers help to bring food rations to a food aid distribution center, managed by different NGOs and called "Everything is going to be allright", in the city center of Kramatorsk on July 11, 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Miguel Medina | AFP | Getty Images

The World Food Program estimates that 20% of Ukrainians have insufficient food due to Russia's invasion.

"The situation is particularly concerning in the eastern and southern parts of the country, where one in every two families is facing challenges in putting food on their table," the World Food Program wrote in a report.

The group estimates that about 40% of female-headed families in hostile regions are food insecure and need help addressing specific dietary needs, especially those who are pregnant and breastfeeding.

"People with chronic illnesses or disabilities are also facing increasing challenges," the World Food Program wrote.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 202210:22 AM EDT

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on "Department of Defense's Budget Requests for FY2023", on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2022.

Sarah Silbiger | Reuters

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Armed Forces Gen. Valery Zaluzhny over the weekend.

"They discussed the unprovoked and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and exchanged perspectives and assessments. The chairman once again reaffirmed unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a Pentagon readout of the call.

Milley last spoke with Zaluzhny on Thursday, the third call between the two leaders this month.

Amanda Macias

Mon, Aug 15 20229:30 AM EDT

President Vladimir Putin claimed Russia's weaponry is potentially decades ahead of its foreign counterparts.

"Promising models and systems that are future-oriented and will determine the future of the armed forces are of particular interest," he said. Putin was speaking at the opening of the "Army 2022" international military-technical forum on Monday.

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Russia urged to withdraw forces from Ukrainian nuclear power plant; Putin turns to North Korea for friendship - CNBC

On the front page war, on the back page the crossword. A line from my novel The Light and the Dark sprang to mind as I travelled on a train shortly after Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Sitting across from me, a passenger was reading the paper: on the front page, there was the war; on the back page, the crossword. Time has passed since then, and the daily atrocities have started to disappear from the headlines, despite the battles growing more savage each day. But no one in the west wants to hear about war any more people are tired of horror and solidarity. They want peace, no price rises, a quiet life and a nice holiday.

Its not the first time my writing has sounded the alarm over horrors to come. Before the annexation of Crimea, I used an analogy with the Russian folk tale Teremok to describe Europes uncertain future. Once upon a time, there were some forest animals who lived together in a cosy little house a teremok. One day, a frog knocks on the door. Knock, knock! Who dwells in this teremok? Let me in, Id like to live here with you. The animals let the frog in, and everyone agrees that it is a happy and cosy home. They even let in Kyward the hare and Reynard the fox there is room for everyone in the teremok. But then along comes Bruin the bear. No matter how hard he tries, he cant fit into the teremok. The bear flies into a rage and sits down on the house. And thats the end of the teremok and of the fairytale.

But no warnings were heeded. In 2014, shortly after the annexation of Crimea, I wrote, with increasing urgency, that in the 21st century there is no such thing as a distant, localised war any more. Every war is now a European war. And this European war has already begun. I warned that Vladimir Putins annexation of Crimea would create a wave of patriotism. Sooner or later, this wave will break, and then Putin will need a fresh wind. I wrote of how years of chronic instability in the Balkans would create cripplingly high levels of migration to European countries, with an inconceivably greater wave of refugees from Ukraine.

Back then, there was still a chance to stop the aggressor. Yet European politicians closed their eyes to reality in an effort to curry favour with voters. Voters wanted peace then, too; jobs, no price rises and nice holidays. Corrupt Russian experts insisted that we should understand Putins point of view and make concessions.

And now, here we are: in the middle of a European war, facing an unprecedented wave of refugees from Ukraine, and wondering how our politicians could have been so blind. No one listens to writers any more. The only true lesson we can draw from history is that history teaches nothing.

In Germany, intellectuals have collected thousands of signatures on a petition demanding their own government stop delivering weapons to Ukraine, because it could lead to a third world war. We want a policy of peace, not war, they write. But the third world war has already begun. It started in 2014. How can you cure someones blindness, if they want to be blind?

The question now is, how and when will this war end? The war against Nazi Germany didnt end with Hitlers death, but with a devastating military defeat. Putins death one day is inevitable, but Russias defeat is not.

The answer boils down to authenticity. Some tsars are real, some are fake. If Holy Russia expands its territory and other peoples bow before the autocrat in Moscow, the vassalled population that toils and struggles and heroically sheds its blood for the sacred fatherland thinks it is a blessing from God. And then it doesnt matter very much how the tsar came to power or how he rules over his subjects. He can butcher them in their millions, destroy thousands of churches and execute the priests all that matters is that the tsar is real, for then the enemy will tremble and the Holy Land will extend. Thats how it was with Stalin.

Conversely, military failures and the loss of even a small part of the Holy Land will be seen by the tsars subjects as a clear sign that the tsar is not blessed that he is an illegitimate fake. Did he botch the war with Japan? Did he fail to subjugate the Chechens? If so, that man on the throne is a con artist posing as a tsar. Thats how it was with Nicholas II and Boris Yeltsin.

Putin legitimised his presidency by regaining Crimea, but his legitimacy is evaporating with his inability to win against Ukraine. The next tsar will, in turn, have to prove himself by achieving victories in the war against the world. And if, for this Putin, threatening to deploy tactical nuclear weapons is merely one aspect of hybrid warfare, for the next Putin deploying them may become a necessary tool in his effort to secure power.

The next Putin, too, will be nothing more than an actor who cannot change his role. His role will be pre-written by the entire Russian power structure, which doesnt worry about how many people will die in Ukraine or Russia or wherever; it isnt concerned about the resources it spends, the number of weapons it deploys or the level of military casualties. And if the Russian quality of life deteriorates? So be it the regime never did care much about the happiness of its own people.

Anyone who is part of this power structure is not afraid to attack the west. After all, who should they be scared of? If a rocket lands on a Nato members territory, what then? More meetings, statements, declarations, calls for peace? Its high time the free world realised that it is not fighting a mad dictator but an autonomous and self-regenerating aggressive power system.

The Russian autocracys ancient social structure has been preserved by the storehouse of history for centuries, and sheds its skin only to return in a new guise: as the Golden Hordes Khanate or the tsardom of Moscow, as the Romanovs empire or Stalins communist Soviet Union, and most recently as Putins managed democracy. And now the Russian Federation is shedding its skin once more. What will emerge from the undisturbed foundations of the undefeated military dictatorship? Could it be a free constitutional democracy that willingly forgoes nuclear weapons? Does this sound likely to you?

Before the second world war, too, people wanted peace, no price rises and nice holidays. The voters hoped that their own democratic governments in France and Britain would pursue a policy of peace with Hitler rather than one of war. What followed is history, encompassed in Winston Churchills ruthlessly honest and tragic message to voters: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

Sooner or later, similar promises will have to be made instead of nice holidays, European voters must steel themselves for great sacrifice, struggle and hardship, because that is the price we must pay for peace.

Mikhail Shishkin is a novelist. He has won the Russian Booker, Russian National Bestseller and Big Book prizes

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com

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The west is trying to quietly forget the war in Ukraine. It does so at its own peril - The Guardian

Germany, together with its partners, will continue to support Ukraine in all possible ways.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this at a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau in Montreal on Monday, August 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Our central task is to do everything to support Ukraine. We did that by supplying weapons, providing funds, working together with partners in the G7, as well as with the help of very specific assistance. [...] We understand the possibility of further escalation, so we make an important promise: we will continue to support Ukraine with further supplies of weapons," Scholz said.

He said that German weapons and the latest systems are very effective and often "change the situation in the war in the east and help Ukrainians defend themselves from the air."

The chancellor said that Germany and Canada are determined to continue supporting Ukraine in its defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also emphasized the willingness of both states and partners in the G7 and the EU to do everything to restore and rebuild the country. According to the politician, such assistance is being provided even now, when the war is ongoing. He also announced plans to hold in Germany a joint conference with the EU on the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Scholz recalled that the country has taken in more than 900,000 Ukrainian refugees, and 150,000 Ukrainian schoolchildren can get an education in Germany. This is also a big help, he said.

Scholz noted that, together with his Canadian colleague, he will take part in the second summit of the Crimea Platform, which will be held on the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the Victims of All Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes.

He said Russia must realize that the war it started would not go unpunished, and called the sanctions introduced against the Russian Federation unprecedented, as they will slow the development of the Russian economy, because it will be cut off from high technologies and financial resources of world markets.

At the same time, Scholz stated that Russia is trying to split the international community. In this regard, he thanked Canada for agreeing to hand over a Russian turbine to Germany and thwarting Putin's plans. "Russia is not a reliable business partner. It has cut gas supplies to Europe, and at the moment it is important for us not to fall into Putin's net and to stick together," the chancellor said.

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Germany will continue to support Ukraine by supplying weapons - Scholz - Ukrinform

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

The Ukrainian navy says that work has resumed at three Black Sea ports designated under a deal with Russia to resume cereals' exports that have been blocked by Russia's invasion.

At talks in Turkey last week, Kyiv and Moscow agreed a mechanism to allow blocked Ukrainian grain to be exported across the Black Sea from the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Pivdennyi.

Kyiv has said it hopes to begin sending out the first of millions of tonnes of grain "this week" despite a missile strike by Russia last week on the port in Odessa.

Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of agricultural products, but Moscow's invasion has severely disrupted Ukrainian wheat exports as the fighting damaged harvests and left ports blocked and mined.

As part of the deal, a coordination centre involving Ukrainian and Russian representatives was opened Wednesday in Istanbul to monitor the safe passage of ships along the agreed routes.

Ukrainian forces hit a key Russian-held bridge overnight during a counter-offensive to retake the occupied southern city of Kherson, representatives from both sides say.

The Russian army has used the Antonivskiy bridge over the Dnipro River as a key resupply route into Kherson, which fell to Russian forces in the early days of the invasion.

Kyiv has vowed a major counter-offensive to retake the region next to the Crimea peninsula, with the help of advanced missile systems supplied by the West.

Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Kostin is appointed the country's new prosecutor general, a week after President Volodymyr Zelensky fired Kostin's predecessor and the head of the country's security agency, citing widespread collusion with Russia among their staff.

The prosecutor general's office said that 299 lawmakers of Ukraine's parliament -- the Rada -- backed Kostin's nomination.

Story continues

Zelensky says he hopes Kostin will help achieve "fair punishment for every Russian war criminal."

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg upholds a broadcast ban imposed on Russian news channel RT France.

Consistently accused of churning out Russian state propaganda, RT has been blocked in most Western countries since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February.

The Kremlin has hit back by curtailing the work of some Western media outlets in Russia.

Russian lawmakers have also passed draconian laws restricting free speech, under which criticism of the war and occupation can lead to lengthy prison sentences.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has carried out its promise to drastically cut gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline to about 20 percent of its capacity from 40 percent, German authorities say.

The Russian state-run company announced Monday that it would slash supply to 33 million cubic metres a day -- half the amount it has been delivering since service resumed last week after 10 days of maintenance work.

EU states have accused Russia of squeezing supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blames EU sanctions for the limited supply.

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War in Ukraine: latest developments - news.yahoo.com

Edmonton is now home to about 12 percent of an estimated 1.36 million people of Ukrainian descent who live in Canada, according to the most recently available federal data. Thats more than any other metropolitan area.

Pope Francis visit to Canada is his first to a country with a significant Ukrainian population since the war began in February. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), however, did not request an audience with the pope.

We think this visit has one focus. Yes, whats happening in Ukraine is front of mind for us, but reconciliation is also very important, said Broda, the UCCs Edmonton chapter president, adding that the group is trying to build relationships with Indigenous groups and work on our part of reconciliation.

The popes visit to Canada has been dubbed an apology tour by some. He traveled to a community south of Edmonton on Monday to deliver a historic apology to Indigenous survivors of residential schools run by the Catholic Church for more than a century from the 1880s until the 1990s. The schools were meant to wipe out Indigenous languages, traditions and customs a system derided as cultural genocide by a high-profile Truth and Reconciliation Commission report in 2015.

If the circumstances surrounding the papal visit were different, Broda said his organization definitely would request an audience with Francis.

The pope has repeatedly offered words of compassion to Ukrainians victimized by Russias invasion. In a June interview with Jesuit magazine La Civilt Cattolica, he decried the brutality and ferocity of Russian troops, and celebrated the heroism of the Ukrainian people.

Ukrainian refugees board a plane before flying to Canada, from Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland on July 4, 2022.|Michal Dyjuk/AP Photo

But the pontiff also turned heads with a suggestion that the invasion was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented a possible nod to Russian claims that NATOs aggressive posture in the region forced President Vladimir Putins hand.

The Pope hasnt spoken that much about (the war), but what he has said is disheartening, said Broda, one of thousands of Greek-Ukrainian Catholics in Canada.

There have been other papal missteps along the way.

In April, the Vaticans Way of the Cross procession through Romes Colosseum on Good Friday angered many Ukrainian Catholics. The ceremony featured a Russian and a Ukrainian woman holding the cross together in the spirit of peace and reconciliation.

Broda said the spirit of that event was a nice sentiment on the surface, but it implied that the Russian people werent themselves fanning the flames of war.

As easy as it is to say its all Vladimir Putins fault, Putin didnt rape women and children in Bucha and Mariupol, he said. A lot of those atrocities that came to light after the Russians withdrew were not committed by Vladimir Putin. They were committed by your average Russian soldier.

Broda recalled a massive pro-war rally at a Moscow stadium in March that attracted 200,000 people and various shows of support for Putins invasion in European nations with a large Russian diaspora.

Those are people who live in the West and have access to all the information in the world, and they still choose to support the war, he said.

In the same interview with La Civilt Cattolica, Francis attempted to add nuance to his views.

Someone may say to me at this point: but you are pro-Putin! No, I am not, he said. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing. I am simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys, without reasoning about roots and interests, which are very complex.

The pope told Reuters in June that he hoped to visit both Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to bring a resolution to the war. He said only that those trips would follow his time in Canada.

The first thing is to go to Russia to try to help in some way, but I would like to go to both capitals, he said.

Given the chance to speak directly to the pope, Broda said the UCC would ask him to pick a side.

I would hope that His Holiness would hear the concerns of Canadian Catholics and take a more clear and unequivocal position in support of Ukraine, he said. I dont think the lines between good and bad have been quite so clear in a really long time.

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Pope's views on Ukraine war worry some in Canada - POLITICO