CBS: Pope Francis says Ukraine should have “courage of the white flag” against Russia
Pope Francis (photo from via Wikipedia)
Pope Francis seems to realize that Ukraine is in no position to militarily push Russia out and that Ukraine should negotiate a settlement:
Pope Francis says Ukraine should have “courage of the white flag” against Russia
March 10, 2024
Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks.
The pope made his appeal during an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was partially released on Saturday.
“I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers.
Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, …
Russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield in the war now in its third year and Ukraine is running low on ammunition. …
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Saturday that Francis picked up the “white flag” term that had been used by the interviewer. He issued a statement of clarification after the pope’s “white flag” comments sparked criticism that he was siding with Russia in the conflict.
Throughout the war, Francis has tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that has often been accompanied by apparent sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine, such as when he noted that NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion.
Francis said in the RSI interview that “the word negotiate is a courageous word.”
“When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” he said. “Negotiations are never a surrender.”
Well, negotiations, in this case, are a type of surrender. But for Ukraine, the alternatives may be worse.
Francis is being criticized for his remarks:
March 10, 2024
Four world leaders visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Saturday (Feb 24), a day that marked the completion of two years of the Ukraine war. It was on this day in 2022, that Russian forces launched was President Vladimir Putin calls a ‘special military operation’. On
Ukrainian and allied officials criticized Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, a statement many interpreted as a call on Ukraine to surrender.
The foreign minister of Poland, a vocal ally of Kyiv, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican both used World War II analogies to condemn the pope’s remarks, while a leader of one of Ukraine’s Christian churches on Sunday said that only the country’s determined resistance to Russia’s aggression had prevented a mass slaughter of civilians. …
A Vatican spokesman later clarified that the pope supported “a stop to hostilities (and) a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations,” rather than an outright Ukrainian surrender. Matteo Bruni said that the journalist interviewing Francis used the term “white flag” in the question that prompted the controversial remarks. …
Kyiv remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, …
During the Angelus prayer on Sunday from the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Francis said that he was praying “for peace in the tormented Ukraine and in the Holy Land.”
“Let the hostilities which cause immense suffering among the civilian population cease as soon as possible,” he said. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/russia-ukraine-war-pope-francis/2024/03/10/id/1156669/
Anyway, note something from today as well as last week: something that Time reported last month:
March 10, 2024
The trend … seems to be that the more clearly Ukraine forces are losing, the more unhinged and bellicose some Western officials become.
Ukraine is in retreat, following Russia’s capture of the eastern city of Avdiivka last month. Several other smaller towns and cities have also fallen, with Ukraine’s front lines in disarray. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/madness-west-conducting-all-out-militarization-defeat-russia-serbian-president-warns
March 2024
Russian troops continued a relentless march in eastern Ukraine for a third straight week, giving defenders no respite since seizing Avdiivka on February 17.
Geolocated footage on February 29 showed Russian troops had advanced 5km (3 miles) west of Avdiivka to the outskirts of Orlivka and Berdychi.
The following day, they were in central Orlivka. By Monday, they were spotted close to a road that connects Orlivka to the village of Tonenke to its south.
By the estimate of the Russian Ministry of Defence, it took Moscow’s forces four months to advance 9km (5.6 miles) through the Donetsk region before seizing Avdiivka.
By that standard, 5km in three weeks – including 3km (nearly 2 miles) in the past week alone – was fast progress. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/6/russia-takes-more-ground-in-east-ukraine-but-loses-another-ship-at-sea
Last month, Time and The Hill posted the following:
Ukraine Can’t Win the War
February 24, 2024
he long-awaited counteroffensive last year failed. Russia has recaptured Avdiivka, its biggest war gain in nine months. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been forced to quietly acknowledge the new military reality. The Biden Administration’s strategy is now to sustain Ukrainian defense until after the U.S. presidential elections, in the hope of wearing down Russian forces in a long war of attrition.
This strategy seems sensible enough, but contains one crucially important implication and one potentially disastrous flaw, which are not yet being seriously addressed in public debates in the West or Ukraine. The implication of Ukraine standing indefinitely on the defensive—even if it does so successfully—is that the territories currently occupied by Russia are lost. Russia will never agree at the negotiating table to surrender land that it has managed to hold on the battlefield. …
Yet supporters of complete Ukrainian victory have engaged in hopes that range from the overly optimistic to the magical. At the magical end of the spectrum is the notion, set out by retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges among others, that Russia can be defeated, and even driven from Crimea, by long-range missile bombardment.
This is folly. Ukrainians have scored some notable successes against the Russian Black Sea Fleet, but to take back Crimea they would need to be able to launch a massive amphibious landing, an exceptionally difficult operation far beyond their capabilities in terms of ships and men. Attacks on Russian infrastructure are pinpricks given Russia’s size and resources. …
For Ukrainians to stand a chance, military history suggests that they would need a 3-to-2 advantage in manpower and considerably more firepower. Ukraine enjoyed these advantages in the first year of the war, but they now lie with Russia, and it is very difficult to see how Ukraine can recover them. … the lost Ukrainian territories are lost … https://time.com/6695261/ukraine-forever-war-danger/
Ukraine can no longer win
February 22, 2024
There is no path for Ukraine to win this war. American support will not change this reality. …
The reality, two years in, is that there is no path to victory for Ukraine, at least not in the sense of pushing Russian troops back to 2021 lines of control. After Ukrainian troops abandoned Avdiivka following some of the war’s heaviest fighting — the most significant loss or gain by either side in nine months — almost all advantages accrue to Russia.
The seizure of Avdiivka does not materially change the war, but it does change the momentum. Moscow can throw mass in terms of bodies, tanks, artillery, and drones at exhausted Ukrainian forces until they crack. Ukraine is exhausted and outnumbered, struggling to recruit new troops. The best Ukraine can do now is fight Russia to a negotiated settlement that allows it to keep its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security against another Russian invasion. Even these provisions may now seem unrealistic. …
None of this is fair to the people of Ukraine, who have placed their hopes of sovereignty on America’s commitment to them. It is, however, the tragic reality of the situation. https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4481154-ukraine-can-no-longer-win/
Ukraine is not winning this conflict. As far as the lost territories go, President Zelensky has stated that Ukraine would not give them up nor negotiate with the Putin regime unless Russia would give them up.
Furthermore, Russia has basically stated that since they annexed various areas previously controlled by Ukraine, those lands are now part of Russia and that Russia would use nuclear weapons if it thought it faced defeat.
As long-time readers of the COGwriter site are aware, since 2013 I have written that at least part of the territories that Ukraine controlled would end up supporting Russia. That happened in 2014 with Crimea. Also on February 5, 2022, I spoke in a video that stated that more areas of Ukraine (in addition to Crimea) would end up aligning with Russia (watch Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy). That has happened.
Ukraine is in a tough spot.
More and more destruction is occurring.
It can continue to fight and hope that Russia will not take it over completely.
It can negotiate and hope that Russia will not later take it over completely.
It could repent and trust God, but it has shown no indications of that.
It might decide to negotiate with Russia and try to get its remaining territory to be part of the European Union.
Because of various prophecies in the Bible, I remain convinced that parts of the territory that Ukraine claims will end up supporting Russia when it helps lead a massive invasion of Europe–an invasion that will NOT occur until AFTER the European Beast power defeats the USA (cf. Daniel 11:39,44-45).
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy as are two video sermonettes Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy and Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Four related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code), and Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?
The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy Is there a Eurasian union that will be formed? Is one being formed right now? Are any leaders working on that in the 21st century? Does the Bible teach that there will be a Eurasian union? If some type of Eurasian union is formed, who might it benefit and who will it destroy? A related video would be Is The Eurasian Union Rising?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. It is available inover 1,000 languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons: The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? Three related sermons are available Let’s Talk About the Earthly Millennium, Millennial Utopia, and The Millennium.
Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or 2025 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
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