Orthodox Church leader says Russian soldiers dying in Ukraine will be cleansed of sin

FILE PHOTO: Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia conducts the Orthodox Christmas service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia, January 6, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

(Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that Russian soldiers who die in the war against Ukraine will be cleansed of all their sins, days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's first mobilisation since World War Two.

Patriarch Kirill is a key Putin ally and backer of the invasion. He has previously criticised those who oppose the war and called on Russians to rally round the Kremlin.