Pope Francis on Saturday labelled the weapons industry as being a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in Russia’s war, saying even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery.
During his return journey from Marseille, France, the Pope appeared to allude to Poland’s recent decision to cease arms shipments to Ukraine when questioned about the ongoing war.
He expressed frustration with the limited success of Vatican diplomatic efforts in addressing the conflict. He pointed out that the arms industry played a significant role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, highlighting the paradox that has left Ukraine as a “matyred people”. Initially, many nations provided Ukraine with weapons, but are retracting their support by withholding such arms.
The pope has long denounced the weapons industry as “merchants of death”, but he has also asserted the right of countries to defend themselves.
“I’ve seen now that some countries are pulling back, and aren’t giving weapons,” he said. “This will start a process where the martyrdom is the Ukrainian people, certainly. And this is bad.”
It was an apparent reference to the announcement by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck that Poland was no longer sending arms to Ukraine as part of a trade dispute.