Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 23, 2022 / 05:20 am
The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said on Tuesday that “all of humanity has been placed in danger” by Russia’s recognition of independence for areas in eastern Ukraine.
In an appeal issued on Feb. 22, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Lugansk (LNR) and Donetsk (DNR) as independent entities.
“The recognition by the president of the Russian Federation of the ‘independence and sovereignty’ of the self-proclaimed LNR and DNR creates serious challenges and threats for the entire international community and for international law, on the basis of which today people and their nations exist and cooperate,” he said.
“Irreparable damage has been done to the very logic of international relations, which are called to safeguard peace and the just order of societies, the supremacy of law, the accountability of state powers, the defense of the human being, human life, and natural rights.”