Claims Russian troops need to 'de-Satanise' Ukraine criticised - as 'holy war' comparisons made
Wild claims that Russian troops need to carry out a "de-Satanisation" of Ukraine because of a spread of the cult have been criticised as "false".
Moscow has repeatedly attempted to frame its invasion as a holy war (with Vladimir Putin as the chosen one), and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that fighting in the "special military operation" washes away all sins.
New remarks by a Russian politician that the Church of Satan has spread across Ukraine were described as "false" by the church, which said its members, who make up a tiny percentage of society, were not devil worshippers.
Instead, they are atheists using Satan "as a symbol of liberty, individualism, and self-fulfilment" while carrying out a "live and let live" approach to being part of society, he told Sky News.
Meanwhile, a Russian priest on the frontline has been using bodybags to baptise soldiers, in the absence of a font.
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Claims made by Russian politician
Not content with its bogus claims to be "de-Nazifying" its neighbour, Aleksey Pavlov, assistant secretary of the Russian Security Council, said its troops need to carry out the urgent "de-Satanisation" of Ukraine.
He said units in the Ukrainian armed forces - such as Azov and Kraken - "openly use" supposed "symbols of the occult practices" of the Nazi SS division.
Speaking to Russian state-owned newspaper Arguments and Facts, he said: "If we talk about the origins of occultism and sectarianism, then I note that the 'Church of Satan', which has spread across Ukraine, is one of the officially registered religions in the United States."
The politician also accused "a group of pagans" of desecrating a cross devoted to a 1,000-year-old Russian saint in Kyiv in 2015.
"I believe that with the continuation of the special military operation, it becomes more and more urgent to carry out the de-Satanisation of Ukraine," he concluded.
His call echoed comments by Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov to carry out de-Satanisation via jihad.
High priest of Church of Satan refutes claim
However, the comments were criticised by the Church of Satan, an organisation dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible.
High priest Magus Peter H Gilmore told Sky News that it wasn't true to say that the church had spread through Ukraine, or any country.
He added: "Satanism is not a mass movement, since it challenges each Satanist to be fully responsible for all of their actions - there is no God nor Satan involved.
"People of most other beliefs often prefer to credit or blame someone else, be it natural or supernatural, for any issues they might encounter. Being atheist, the Satanist does not have that option.
"Satanism is thus a philosophy that will only appeal to a few individuals, for whom it comes naturally, and they will always be a very small percentage of any population."
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He added that Satanists "will generally be amongst the most intelligent and inventive people one might hope to encounter, should you be so fortunate."
Magus Gilmore said the branding of Ukrainians as "Nazis" and "Satanists" was an attempt "to justify aggression against them".
"Making people a scapegoat based on false accusations is sadly a continuous thread throughout human history," he added.
Baptisms in bodybags
Meanwhile, Russian priest Viktor Ivanov has been bodybags to baptise soldiers on the frontline.
Without a font to use for the traditional immersion ceremony, he said he used black bags to envelop members of his flock for the baptism.
The bags, he noted, were ones traditionally used for cargo "200" - Russian slang for military casualties.
Earlier this week, Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, said in a speech that President Putin was the chosen one to fight against the "antichrist", the Daily Beast reported.
In a previous sermon, he suggested that fighting in the so-called "special military operation" washes away sins
