Russia issues formal protest to Vatican after Pope calls out ‘cruelty’ of Ukraine invasion

‘I expressed indignation at such insinuations’ says Russian ambassador

Russia has filed a formal protest to the Vatican after Pope Francis condemned the “cruelty” of Moscow’s forces in the invasion of Ukraine.

“I expressed indignation at such insinuations,” Russia’s ambassador to the Vatican, Aleksandra Avdeyev, told state-run news agency RIA Novosti on Monday after his visit to the leadership of the city state’s diplomatic service.

Francis had told the Jesuit magazine America in an interview: “When I speak about Ukraine, I speak about the cruelty because I have much information about the cruelty of the troops that come in.