Today, Pope Francis compared the suffering of Ukrainians in the war imposed on them by Russia to the "Holodomor" - "genocide artificially caused by Stalin" in Ukraine in the 1930s during the Soviet repression of the nation there, above all of the peasants.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was accused of causing the famine in Ukraine, and it is believed that more than three million people died of starvation.
AP assesses that the Pope, by calling today's suffering of Ukrainians a genocide, significantly sharpened his rhetoric against Russia.
So far, only 17 countries have officially recognized the famine, known as the genocidal "Famine", according to the Museum of the Famine in Kyiv.
Today, the Pope again called for prayers for the "terrible suffering of the dear and martyred Ukrainian people".
He reminded that Saturday marks the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the forced starvation that Ukraine celebrates every fourth Saturday in November as Remembrance Day.
Bonus video:
