Putin quotes Jesus to justify invasion of Ukraine

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 19 March 2022

During a pro-war rally in Moscow on Friday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin invoked the words of Jesus Christ in order to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow police said more than 200,000 people attended the rally, Al Jazeera reported. Polling shows that a majority of Russians support the war in Ukraine, which has already left numerous Ukrainian civilians displaced, injured, and dead.

Speaking to the crowd in a turtleneck and down winter coat, Putin said he ordered the invasion "to get people out of their misery, out of this genocide, that is the main reason, the motive and purpose of the military operation that we began in Donbas and Ukraine," according to The Washington Post. Russia has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian government of committing genocide in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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