
Budapest Opens Door to EU Sanctions on Russia’s Patriarch Kirill
EU officials are preparing a “mini” sanctions package targeting about ten individuals, including figures previously shielded by the Orbán government.

EU officials are preparing a “mini” sanctions package targeting about ten individuals, including figures previously shielded by the Orbán government.

It is highly significant that a church from a country with so storied and conflicted relationship to Russia has signaled support for Russia.

As a young priest, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill worked for the KGB, two Swiss newspapers claim.

Even before Vladimir Putin’s announcement, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak described a possible truce as a “cynical trap” with an “element of propaganda.”

Pope Francis hopes to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill at the meeting in September.

The position of the Ukrainian Church has become increasingly untenable. On May 27th, it published a document underlining its “disagreement with the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia on the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine.”

Experts warn that cutting off Russian oil imports will increase the price of gasoline for European consumers. They also caution that delayed onset of the sanctions will only give Russia time to sell its oil elsewhere before losing European business, weakening the effects of the sanctions.