Wars like the one in Ukraine, where civilian areas are subjected to indiscriminate destruction, are „a crime against God and humanity”, Pope Francis said on Monday. In his annual speech to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, the Pope spoke about „the war in Ukraine, with its wake of death and destruction, with its attacks on civil infrastructures that cause lives to be lost not only from gunfire and acts of violence, but also from hunger and freezing cold.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are withstanding constant Russian attacks on Bakhmut and other towns in the east of Donbas, the Ukrainian authorities announced today. „Bakhmut is holding out against all odds,” president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Sunday address. The nearby town of Soledar is also holding out, „Although there is even more destruction there and it is extremely hard,” he added.
