The head of Russia's Orthodox Church justified the Kremlin's bombing campaign in Syria, calling it a "defensive war" in an interview released Thursday as the country marked Orthodox Christmas.<br />Patriarch Kirill said Moscow's military strikes were necessary to protect Russia from "terrorism."<br />"As long as the war is carried out in self-defence, then it is just," Kirill told state-run Rossiya 1 television channel.<br />"All that is happening is a self-defensive, responsive action.<br />In that sense, we can safely talk about it is a just struggle."<br />The Kremlin launched a bombing campaign in Syria in late September at the request of its long-standing ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad saying it was targeting jihadists who posed a threat to Russia.<br />But the campaign has drawn condemnation from the West - which accuses Moscow of bombing moderate groups to prop up Assad - and allegations that it has caused mass civilian casualties.
