Russians kill 2,000 Ukraine civilians; white evangelicals in U.S. praise "Christian nationalist nation" of Russia and Putin

Russian bombardment damage to apartment block in Kharkiv

On the one week anniversary of the war, Government sources within Ukraine are reporting this morning that at least 2,000 civilians have been killed since the war began. There are reports of heavy bombardments of multiple cities in Ukraine including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and the port city of Kherson on the lower Dnieper River. New York Times is reporting that Russian forces are positioning themselves to “encircle” major Ukrainian cities. Security officials in Kherson are reporting that food and medicine are running out, and there are “many dead civilians” in the city.

Putin realizes that his forces have lost momentum and the invasion of Ukraine has bogged down. It is evident that Putin’s generals, who had been massing forces on the Ukrainian border for months, had told him the invasion would be over by now and the government of Ukraine would have fallen. Putin is lashing out, ordering his forces to lay siege to Ukrainian cities and pay no attention to where their shells and missiles are going and who they are killing.

Ukrainian President Zelensky has accused Putin of “war crimes,” and the International Criminal Court [ICC] in The Hague has announced it is beginning an investigation into Putin’s actions since his annexation of Crimea. “I am satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine since 2014,” said ICC prosecutor Karim Khan yesterday in announcing the investigation.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S.A., televangelist Pat Robertson of the “700 Club” told his viewers that Putin was “compelled by God” to invade Ukraine. Robertson began citing verses from the Bible’s Book of Ezekiel, and said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was merely a “staging ground” for the eventual battle of Armageddon in Israel.

Conservatives attending the meeting of CPAC in Orlando this weekend were treated to this from Lauren Witzke, a Republican running for the Senate in Delaware: “Here’s the deal. Russia is a Christian nationalist nation. They’re actually Russian Orthodox. I identify more with Putin’s Christian values than I do with Joe Biden.”

MSNBC reported this morning that white evangelical Christians and Republicans are being faced with a “hard choice” in squaring beliefs they share with Putin about homosexuality and authoritarianism in the face of Russian slaughter of civilians in Ukraine.

Given Trump’s praise of Putin as “savvy” and “smart,” and the anti-gay and transgender laws being passed in states like Florida and Texas, which is “investigating” parents of transgender children for child abuse, I don’t think Christian fundamentalists are going to have a hard time at all.