- Vladimir Putin ordered the partial mobilization of 300,000 military reservists last month.
- An Orthodox priest was asked if he sympathizes with the mothers of mobilized Russian recruits.
- Mikhail Vasilyev said women should have more babies if they are sad about their sons going to war.
An influential Orthodox priest said that Russian women worried about their sons dying in Ukraine should have more babies.
In an interview with the Russian TV channel Spas on Wednesday, Mikhail Vasilyev was asked whether he sympathizes with mothers whose sons were recently mobilized to fight in the war in Ukraine.
"I understand very well that God has allowed every woman — in most cases — to have many children," Vasilyev said.
"And if a woman fulfills this God's commandment to procreate, it usually means that she will have more than one child, in most cases," he added. "Consequently, it will not be as painful and as terrifying for her to part with her child."
The interview was posted in a widely-shared Telegram post.
Vasilyev is the leader of the Church of Great Martyr Barbara in Rostov Oblast, Russia's sixth most populous federal region.
He previously accompanied Russian troops to war zones in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, and Syria, The Telegraph reported in 2018. It is unclear whether Vasilyev, who has military training himself, has traveled to Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the partial mobilization of 300,000 military reservists in an effort to stem a string of defeats for his army in Ukraine.
The announcement prompted a renewed wave of protests across Russia while hundreds of thousands attempted to flee to countries with visa-free entry. Videos circulating online also showed families tearfully bidding farewell to conscripted men, who departed on buses.
Some draftees have already been killed or captured in Ukraine after reports that they received very little training before being sent out to the battlefield, The New York Times reported.
On Tuesday, Putin admitted that Russia faces "issues" in the Ukraine war and urged his team to "provide support for the special military operation."