KIEV, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - Patriarch...

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church arrived in Ukraine"s capital earlier in the day for what he called a "pilgrimage" to the birthplace of Russian Orthodoxy.

"A lot of people died during the mass famine in Ukraine, the Volga region, the Urals and Kazakhstan. This is a tragedy that touched us all," Patriarch Kirill said, adding that the Soviet-era famine should not be used to inspire hatred between the nations.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko thanked the patriarch for visiting the memorial and said Russia was not to blame for the tragedy.

"I always stress that Russia is not to blame, the Russian people are not to blame," Yushchenko said.

In late 2006, Ukraine"s parliament recognized the Stalin-era famine known as Holodomor as an act of genocide by the Soviet authorities.

Russia says the famine cannot be considered an act that targeted Ukrainians, as millions of people from different ethnic groups also lost their lives in vast territories

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