Pope links plight of Ukrainians today to Stalin’s ‘genocide’

The Pope (AP)

The Pope has linked the suffering of present-day Ukrainians to the 1930s “genocide artificially caused by Stalin”, when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a famine believed to have killed more than three million people.

Francis’ linking of the plight of Ukrainian civilians today to those killed by starvation 90 years ago, and his willingness to call it a “genocide” and squarely blame Josef Stalin, marked a sharp escalation in papal rhetoric against Russia.