Suddenly: Shevchuk says there's no military solution to conflict in Donbass

Head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Photo: fakty.com.ua

The head of the UGCC Sviatoslav Shevchuk said that there is no military solution to the conflict in Donbass and that it can only be ended by diplomatic means, VaticanNews reports.

“This is really a tragedy, because we all hoped very much that it would be possible to stop the war, that it would be possible to actually find a political, diplomatic solution to this conflict, because we all know there is no military solution to this situation,” he said.

"No war! Lay down your weapons!" called Shevchuk. “As His Holiness Father Francis said, war brings no gains but losses only. Let reason, dialogue and diplomacy outweigh the temptation to use weapons so that any problems could be resolved from an international political point of view."

In fact, Sviatoslav Shevchuk’s rhetoric used to be quite different.

In June 2019, Shevchuk said that "we do not need peace in Donbass at any cost."

In October 2019, the head of the UGCC stated that only those "who want to save their skin" were tired of the war in Donbass and called on to listen to the soldiers and volunteers who "explain to us that the one who is able to give everything can win."

In November 2019, Shevchuk said that “it is very unsafe to talk about the need to end the war at any cost” and compared those who call for peace with the Nazis: “It is dangerous to succumb to the aggressor for the sake of the so-called peace, i.e. to raise your hands in the air. This reminds me very much of the insidious logic of Nazi propaganda in Europe in the context of Hitler's aggression ... We have been saying for five years: stop killing us, then we will start talking about everything else. Can we just stop shooting? Apparently, it's not that simple."

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