Ukraine Is 'Starting Point' in War Against 'Satanism': Russian Commander

Russian commander Apti Alaudinov recently told Russian-state television host Vladimir Solovyov that Ukraine is the "starting point" in the war against "Satanism."

Solovyov is a Russian propagandist who hosts the program Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, and has been a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, calling it a "righteous operation."

In a clip of Solovyov's show posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday by journalist Julia Davis, founder of the watchdog group Russian Media Monitor, Alaudinov shares his views on where Russia sees the war going.

When Solovyov asked about the state of the war, nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its Eastern European neighbor in February 2022, Alaudinov said, "The war we're currently waging in Ukraine, and many people don't want to understand this, in reality, for Russia, this is a holy war and nothing else."

Alaudinov explained that Russia isn't going after Ukraine for its land, but rather, "we're defending the interests of our people in terms of spirituality, morality, divine values, universal human values."

The Russian commander added: "There, we became a buffer from Satanism that was moving closer and closer to our borders. Basically, it completely surrounded Russia. This Satanism was going to destroy our country, to consume it and break it up in small parts. This war will be the starting point."

He also warned that this war is far from over.

"What we're seeing today is the beginning. Of course, this special military operation will end, but don't think they will let us live in peace after that. We can't relax!" Alaudinov said. "We have a very, very long road to that victory when we will be the nation number one! We already are, but we have to prove it to the world."

Newsweek reached out to Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email and the Russian government via online form for comment.

Over the past few weeks, Russian troops have launched a major offensive targeted at Avdiivka, a town in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region that Moscow also claims as its territory. It followed a major Ukrainian counterattack during the summer and autumn. Kyiv regained some territory, but failed in its larger objective to punch through to the Black Sea, severing Russia's land bridge to Crimea, which Putin annexed in 2014.

The idea that Russia is meant to stop the spread of Satanism in Ukraine is not a new concept. In October 2022, Aleksey Pavlov, assistant secretary of the security council of the Russian Federation, called for the "desatanization" of Ukraine, saying that there were "hundreds of sects" in the country where citizens have abandoned Orthodox values.

"I believe that, with the continuation of the special military operation, it becomes more and more urgent to carry out the desatanization of Ukraine," Pavlov said at the time, state-run Russian news agency Tass reported. "Using internet manipulation and psychotechnologies, the new regime turned Ukraine from a sovereign state to a totalitarian hypersect."

Last month, it was revealed that a Russian man, Nikolai Ogolobyak, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing four teenagers in a ritual with his sect of Satanists, was pardoned by Putin after serving in the Russian military.

Ogolobyak's father told Russian media outlet 76.RU that Ogolobyak served for six months with the "Storm Z" unit, which Russia has used to carry out local pushes on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Ogolobyak returned home on November 2 and has been living with his mother in the Dzerzhinsky district of Yaroslavl, according to his father.

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