The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church has been Putin’s confidant and has told soldiers that dying in Ukraine “washes away all sins.”

Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill and Lukoil founder Vagit Alekperov have been removed from the draft 21st EU package of sanctions against Russia.

The European Union will not impose sanctions on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the chief of Russia’s largest private oil company, after Bulgaria vetoed the proposal.