Putin will have to 'answer to God' one day, says former Archbishop of York John Sentamu

Mr Sentamu described Ukraine as a “very, very strong Christian country” and condemned the violence seen over the weekend in Bucha, near Kyiv, as “brutality, absolute viciousness”.

His intervention comes as local authorities across the country will be given a share of more than £1.8m to establish and support hubs to welcome arriving Ukrainian refugees.

Mr Sentamu, who is now a peer and chairman of the Christian Aid charity, questioned how the president, who identifies as a Russian Orthodox Christian, can say his prayers at night.

He told journalists yesterday afternoon: “The people who are going to forgive him are the Ukrainians, and the rest of us can try to remind him that the Cross of Jesus is the end of violence.

“If you really wear a cross like I do, you must be non-violent. To unleash such brutality is just beyond me.

“If I was a Russian Orthodox Bishop, actually, I would be going and telling Putin that what he’s doing is contrary to the love of God, contrary to humanity as we know it, contrary really to anything else.

“To invade another free country in the way he is doing is just not on. He will have one day to answer to God.”

Mr Sentamu suggested that Putin cannot say that he is on God’s side, when asked whether he had any hope in Christian leaders being able to deter him from the ongoing atrocities.

He explained: “What I would say to him, is whenever you see the poor, the vulnerable, looking at you.

“That’s Jesus looking at you. Because he (Jesus) is among the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, the unloved.

“So Putin, if he is saying he is doing all this – how can he say his prayers at night, particularly that phrase in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Deliver us from evil’?

“How can he do evil acts and then say: ‘I’m on God’s side’ – never, never, never.”

Elsewhere, the Government announced yesterday that 27 local authorities will receive cash to help run 31 welcome centres nationwide, with hubs already up and running at locations such as Stansted and Gatwick airports, as well as St Pancras train station in London, which hosts the Eurostar train arrivals.

Overall, £1.87m will be handed out by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to set up the welcome hubs at transport locations.

They will be able to provide food, clothing, and sanitary products to new arrivals, act as a space for matched families to meet one another and help Ukrainians travel onward to their accommodation elsewhere in the UK.

There will also be emergency £200 cash grants available for people that need it.

Refugees Minister Lord Harrington said: “The response of the British public has been incredible, opening their hearts and homes to the people of Ukraine.

“Welcome hubs at airports and train stations right across the country stand ready to aid Ukrainians and their families as soon as they arrive in the UK.

“Together with the British public, we are doing everything in our power to ensure Ukrainians arrive safely and are supported to rebuild their lives here.”