Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in Ukraine from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica throughout his first Sunday handle after his election, on Sunday Could 11, 2025
Domenico Stinellis/AP
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Domenico Stinellis/AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Pope Leo XIV, asking the brand new pope for assist in bringing house youngsters deported from Ukraine to Russia.
The Ukrainian president additionally mentioned he invited the brand new pope to go to Ukraine and the 2 males “agreed to stay in contact and plan (an) in-person meeting in the near future.”
Zelenskyy mentioned a go to from the brand new pope “would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people.”
The telephone name adopted the pope’s attraction for peace in Ukraine throughout an handle from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Zelenskyy posted on X about his first dialog with Leo, saying he thanked the Pope for his assist of Ukraine.
“We deeply value his words about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for our country and the release of prisoners,” mentioned the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy mentioned in addition they mentioned “the thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia.”
Ukraine “counts on the Vatican’s assistance in bringing them home to their families,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Kremlin officers have financed and facilitated the transport of Ukrainian youngsters in Russian-occupied elements of Ukraine into coerced foster care and adoptions for the reason that 2022 invasion, in keeping with an investigation launched by Yale College’s Humanitarian Analysis Lab. The Trump administration minimize the lab’s funding in March.
On March 19, Zelenskky mentioned he had a constructive, very substantive, and frank” conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump about, among other things, “the return of Ukrainian youngsters who had been taken by Russian forces.”
