Pope Francis' scandalous statement shows signs of two elements of Russian operation - military historian

He said this on Espreso TV. 

"We need to understand that there is no such thing as PSYOP. There are information and psychological special operations. In the Pope's speech, we see signs of two elements - an information operation, when information is dispersed for the purpose of decision-making, and a psychological operation that helps to ensure that the population group to which this information is directed reacts as necessary," Pavlov explained.

According to the military historian, Pope Francis' statement was embedded in the context of the "Russian world."

"We need to remember where the Pope got this set of information and approaches. He was educated in Germany, and his education was Russia-oriented. Putin also worked in Germany before he entered Russian politics. There is a huge agency of influence in Germany. The Pope's statement was embedded in the context of the "Russian world." These narratives clearly coincide with what is happening in Russia now," Pavlov added.

• On August 25, 2023, Pope Francis spoke online with Catholic youth in Russia as part of the X All-Russian Meeting held in St. Petersburg. The Pope called the Russians "descendants of great culture and humanity" and "great Russia." Ukraine's Foreign Ministry criticized the Pope for promoting narratives about Russia's "great power."

• Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav responds to the Pope's address to young people from Russia.