"The pope said he was not “pro-Putin” and that it would be “simplistic and wrong to say such a thing”. He also said Russia had “miscalculated” the war. “It is also true that the Russians thought it would all be over in a week. They encountered a brave people, a people who are struggling to survive and who have a history of struggle.”
"On Tuesday morning, the pontiff published a message saying the invasion of Ukraine was A VIOLATION OF A COUNTRY'S RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION". (my emphasis)
“The war in Ukraine has now been added to the regional wars that for years have taken a heavy toll of death and destruction,” he said in a message for the Roman Catholic church’s World Day of the Poor, which will be marked in November. “Yet here the situation is even more complex due to the direct intervention of a ‘superpower’ aimed at imposing its own will in violation of the principle of the self-determination of peoples.”
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It's pretty clear that the Pope is accusing Russia (Putin) of a wrongful attack...no other way to spin it... comments like "Possibly Provoked" are meant only to provide the slightest opening for further mediation...and by no means support for Putin's aggression.
btw, any response you want to make re: your personal ancestry, etc?