Firstly, we don't listen to the pope when it involves politics. Reference all the tap dancing done by the Vatican while 6 million souls were burned in ovens back in the 1940s.
Secondly, when you cross a border and kill thousands of people, you don't get to claim provocation unless it's physical provocation. I'm not aware of any physical attacks on Russia by the Ukraine. But, then I'm not the most informed person in America.
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