Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby Says Russia’s Ukraine Invasion ‘Opened Gates of Hell’

Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby Says Russia’s Ukraine Invasion ‘Opened Gates of Hell’

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury in London, said that Russia's decision to try annexing Ukraine through a brutal war had "opened the gates of hell."

Welby said that the Russia-Ukraine War mothballed into the release of 'evil forces' worldwide, including famine, murder, rape, and debt explosion in Africa, Europe, and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

Welby's Take on the War in Ukraine

Last month, the highest-ranking Anglican prelate was in war-torn Ukraine to see face-to-face Anglican communion leaders and Christians. Welby also met with locals who were forced to leave their homes for safety amid Russian armed forces' continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and rural areas.

The Guardian quoted Welby saying he was shocked with the "size of the mass graves in Bucha, the photos of what had been done to the people there, the rape, the massacres, the torture by the occupying Russian forces" during his visit in Ukraine.

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Developments in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

According to a report by The Guardian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed hope on Sunday for a winter global peace summit. Zelenskiy's hope was for the summit to be broadcast before the Fifa World Cup final between France and Argentina, although it did not materialize.

"We offered peace formula to the world. Absolutely fair. We offered it because there are no champions in war, there can be no draw," The Guardian quoted the Ukrainian president saying in a video address from Kyiv. 

Meanwhile, the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD) disclosed that their newest defense intelligence showed crumbling morale within a great chunk of Russia's armed forces. The MoD said their intelligence pointed to several issues raised by the invading army's soldiers.

These concerns include the absence of clear war objectives, issues with soldiers' compensation, high death rates, insufficient ammunition and war equipment, and problems with the Russian army's leadership.

Consequently, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his top military leaders to ask them for input on what path their war against Ukraine should take. Kremlin said their Friday strikes on Ukrainian locations were part of their strategy to cut the ingress of foreign weapons for the Ukrainian army.

Accordingly, Ukraine's allies have accused Russia of committing war crimes relative to the latter's recent armed offensives against Ukrainian cities.

The news outlet added that Russia's fresh set of offensives on Ukraine led to a power outage and lack of water supply in several locations. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post on Sunday that workers in his city are "restoring all services after the latest shelling."

The Kyiv mayor added that their "heat supply system was fully restored. All sources of heat supply work normally."

The Guardian said Russia's recent string of armed attacks on several Ukraine regions affected at least 6 million residents who were left without water and electricity. The news outlet said that utility workers had to work overtime just to bring back power and water supply in affected cities amid sub-zero temperatures.

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