“We made the escalation of the conflict our goal”: the Russian Orthodox Church reacted to the sanctions against Patriarch Kirill

The Russian Orthodox Church said that the UK-imposed sanctions against Patriarch Kirill are absurd and counterproductive.

As Vladimir Legoyda, acting head of the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, noted, attempts to intimidate the head of the Russian Orthodox Church or force him to renounce his views are futile.

“The church (especially now) is the last bridge, a means of communication that they are trying to destroy for some reason.

This may be necessary only for those political forces that have made the escalation of the conflict and the alienation of peace their important goal,” he stressed.

Legoyda added that such measures only contribute to breaking the already severely damaged communication between the European community and Russia.

On Thursday, June 16, London added Patriarch Kirill and several other people to the sanctions list.

As follows from the message of the British Foreign Office, the patriarch came under restrictions for "support and approval" of the military operation in Ukraine.

Restrictions were also imposed on the Commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia, Maria Lvova-Belova.

According to the Foreign Office, she is allegedly related to the "forced transportation and adoption of Ukrainian children."

Sanctions were imposed on Moscow City Duma deputy Sergei Savostyanov and the head of the Volga-Dnepr airline, Alexei Isaikin, as well as four colonels of the 64th separate motorized rifle brigade of the RF Armed Forces, which, according to London, is involved in the events in Bucha.

In addition, the restrictions affected the head of the military-civilian administration of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo and his deputy Kirill Stremousov.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke about the new British sanctions.

She cited a message about the inclusion of Patriarch Kirill and the children's ombudsman Lvov-Belov in the sanctions list, drawing attention to the selectivity of the measures taken by London.

“Everything you need to know about the British regime, which did not include a single Ukrainian Nazi with a swastika stuck out in any sanctions list,” she wrote in the Telegram channel.

In recent months, the UK has been systematically expanding personal restrictions on Russians.

The restrictive list noticeably expanded on May 13, when acquaintances and relatives of Vladimir Putin were included in it.

In addition, on April 21, London imposed sanctions against Russian military leaders.

A week earlier, on April 13, more than 200 people were included in the British sanctions list, including the ex-head of the oil company Lukoil Vagit Alekperov, the chairman of the board of directors of AFK Sistema Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the ex-president of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin and the CEO " Surgutneftegaz" Vladimir Bogdanov.

Note that the Russian Foreign Ministry is imposing retaliatory sanctions against British citizens.

On May 24, the Foreign Office announced that 154 members of the House of Lords of the British Parliament have been included in the stop list.

Russian diplomats noted that the individuals included in the list made a direct contribution to the development of anti-Russian sanctions in London, aimed at creating conditions for the political isolation of Russia and the destruction of its economy.

In addition, on June 14, the Foreign Office announced the imposition of restrictions on 49 British citizens, including leaders and correspondents of a number of major British media, as well as representatives of the command of the armed forces, the military-industrial complex and the UK defense lobby.

As emphasized in the department, the British journalists included in the list are involved in the deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information about Russia and events in Ukraine and Donbass.

The ministry's message noted that work on expanding the Russian stop list will continue.